


Band

by t_shirt



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, cross dressing, sap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:13:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22123900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/t_shirt/pseuds/t_shirt
Summary: Hiiro and Duo discover the road to success is sometimes as easy as simply following your heart.Just Wild Beat Communication Lyric's are by Two Mix and are from the opening of the show. ^-^Another oldie, but I hope it's a goody.
Relationships: 1x2 - Relationship, 3x4, 5x????? Oh my!, 6x13 - Relationship
Kudos: 7





	Band

AU/Romance  
1x2, 3x4, 5x????? Oh my! 6x13  
Angst, fluff, mention of the inappropriate fondling of a minor (brief/past incident), sap, my corky humor ^-^, cross dressing

Summary: Hiiro and Duo discover the road to success is sometimes as easy as simply following your heart. 

He ran all the way home. 

‘Father! Father! Sister Helen!’ 

‘Whoa! Slow down, Duo,’ Sister Helen smiled when the young boy skittered around the corner almost running into her in his exuberance. ‘What in the world?’ she laughed taking in his disheveled state while the twelve year old boy chattered excitedly and pushed a slip of paper in her hands. 

‘I made it! They said I can join! Hiiro made it too! We’re gonna practice together! It’ll be so cool! Where’s Father?! I gotta ask him about the rental!’

‘Duo! Settle down,’ the nun soothed waiting until he’d gained control over himself before reading the note, which was a permission slip and information on joining the school band. Her smile faltered for a moment before she fixed it again and handed the paper back to him. ‘He’s in his office,’ she told him unable to contain the small smile his jubilation brought to her face when he snatched it away and darted off down the hall. 

‘Father!’ Duo yelled hitting the door of the old priest’s office so hard it bounced off the wall when he burst into the room. ‘Look! I got in!’ he gushed racing to the startled mans side to present his prize while the tall man in the scarlet robes that sat in one of the black leather chairs was all but ignored in his haste until he looked into the stern eyes of his benefactor and realized what he’d done. 

‘My apologies, Your Grace,’ Father Maxwell sighed refusing to look at the paper in Duo’s hand. 

‘Quite alright,’ the other man chuckled. ‘Our business here is finished anyway,’ he sighed pulling himself to his feet. ‘I was sorry to hear your latest opportunity for adoption was...less than successful,’ the red clad man smiled seeming amused by the fact. 

‘He started it,’ the boy defended defiantly. 

‘Duo,’ Father Maxwell sighed.

‘Well he did!’ he insisted. ‘Wasn’t my fault that old geezer was a lush.’

‘Duo!’ the priest barked and he fell silent, but his eyes still burned with the conviction in his heart. 

‘Indeed,’ the Cardinal laughed allowing the priest to see him out and Duo started again the moment the door closed. 

‘Look!’ he said holding out the paper in earnest. ‘It says I can join the band. All I need is some money to rent an instrument! Hiiro’s gonna be in it too and….’

‘Sit down,’ Father Maxwell intoned in a voice of very, very long suffering that Duo didn’t dare defy in lieu of the fact that he was asking a favor, so he plopped down with the paper still clutched in his hand and a scowl fixed firmly on his small face. 

Father Maxwell took a long moment to collect himself before going to sit in his big chair and holding out his hand for the note. After looking it over he placed it in the center of his desk, opened his bottom drawer and poured himself a short brandy, which he downed in one, quick gulp before replacing the bottle and opening his mouth to address his young charge. 

‘Mr. Talken has agreed to drop the charges,’ he informed him gritting his teeth firmly when Duo set his jaw. ‘However,’ the old priest sighed knowing the futility of his words. ‘Only if he receives a formal apology from y...’

‘NO WAY!’ Duo spat. ‘That old fart tried to give me a bath!’

‘That’s no reason to have broken his arm.’

‘I’m not a baby!’

‘I realize that, Duo, but…’

‘He started it,’ he said. ‘I ended it.’

‘And Darian?’

‘He stole my shoes.’

‘Kyle.’

‘Pammy said he hit her.’

‘Montrose.’

‘Spit on me.’

‘Linda’

‘Pulled my hair.’

‘Drake...Talon...Barbara.’

‘Hey! Those guys tried to corner me and bust my head!’ 

‘You put two of them in the hospital!’

‘Better them then me.’

The old priest started to open his mouth and retort, then thought better of it and said a silent prayer for strength instead. ‘God doesn’t like it when you hurt people.’ he told him. 

‘Tell him to stop ‘em from messin’ up then.’ 

‘………….’

‘Can I rent a bass?’

‘Hm?’

‘I wanna play the base in the band,’ Duo explained as if the entire conversation up till then suddenly was forgotten. ‘Hiiro’s gonna play the guitar,’ he gushed once again. ‘So we’ll be able to practice together’n stuff. It doesn’t cost much if you rent ‘em through the sch…’

‘I’m afraid that’s not possible,’ Father Maxwell broke in, his aged eyes softening sympathetically when the boy drooped. 

‘I promise I won’t hurt the other kids anymore,’ the child offered stubbornly. 

Father just chuckled and explained. ‘It’s not because of your behavior, though I want you to sincerely consider less violent ways of solving your problems,’ he amended eyeing him sternly. ‘I’m afraid the budget simply won’t allow for the rental costs,’ he sighed setting the permission slip aside. 

‘But...Hiiro’s gonna,’ he stammered while his huge, violet eyes washed with confusion, then they set solid in his small face. ‘I’ll get the money myself then.’

‘Duo.’

‘I won’t steal it!’ Duo told him flatly. ‘I’ll earn it! I’ll get a job.’

‘Your studies won’t allow…’

‘But Hiiro’s gonna be in the band!’ he sobbed suddenly, though his expression was still one of utmost determination when the tears broke free and swelled in his eyes. Father Maxwell considered him for a long moment before he felt the compassionate mire that always befuddled his senses when it came to dealing with the long haired boy rise and pulled the permission slip back toward him. 

‘You will see Sister Helen,’ he told him and Duo’s tears dried up in an instant while his infectious joy sprang back to life when he signed his name. ‘We cannot rent you an instrument,’ he told him. ‘However, she may be able to supply you with something suitable enough to allow you to participate,’ he smiled handing the paper back to the excited boy. 

‘Yes’ir!’ Duo cried bolting for the door. 

‘Duo.’

‘Oh, right...thank you!’

‘Duo!’

‘What? I gotta go see Sister!’ he grumbled. 

‘If there are any further incidents involving anything to do with stitches, splints or casts I will be forced to resend this permit,’ he told him. 

Duo stood for a moment as if working that one over in his head, then smiled cheerily and chirped a quick ‘Okay…thanks!’ before heading out the door. 

**

‘What…is that?’

‘A timbrel,’ Duo informed his friend looking down on the small, tambourine shape he’d just laid on the end of his bed as if it were a dead frog. 

‘What does it do?’ Hiiro asked tightening one of the keys on his sparkling new Wing guitar. He’d been lucky to acquire it as it was the last of the elite brand left in their town. Duo picked the timbrel up, shook it once sending a weak, little jingling sound into the air and dropped it back on the mattress to its silent despair. ‘Hn,’ Hiiro mused turning his attention back to the Wing. ‘It sounds nice. Can you play it yet?’ he asked strumming the taunt strings and filling the room with the warm, vibrant hum of their perfect pitch. 

‘UUUUUGG!’ Duo groaned spinning where he stood and falling backward to bounce heavily on the bed next to his friend. ‘What am I suppose to do with this?’ he grumbled flicking the defenseless timbrel disgustedly with his fingers. 

‘I think it sounds nice,’ Hiiro countered, but Duo just stared up at him as if his hair had turned purple. 

‘Damn it,’ he sighed tucking his hands behind his head. ‘Well...at least I’ll get to be in the band,’ he consoled himself listening while Hiiro strummed his guitar again and he closed his eyes letting the sound fill him up. When they first learned of the opportunity to be in the band together they instantly determined that would be the best path for them to take. This way they could be together even when they weren’t in class and there was nothing Duo liked better than the sound of music. After a few moments Hiiro strummed out a couple of cords purposely to get the feel of the symphonic machine. ‘Can you play anything yet?’ Duo asked opening his eyes again. 

‘I read a book,’ Hiiro told him dropping said book on his chest. 

Duo sat up and thumbed through it while Hiiro plucked out one of the simpler melodies. 

‘Hey...that’s got a nice rhythm,’ he smiled inspiring Hiiro to play it again. He wasn’t really surprised that Hiiro could already play as he had never touched anything that even resembled a machine that didn’t seem to kneel down and beg him to allow it to serve. However, he was taken with the smoothly overlapping resonance as it was almost as if Hiiro were speaking to him in some other language all their own. ‘That’s pretty cool,’ Duo smiled while his eyes fell on the little timbrel and his heart was so light from the tune his hand just automatically picked it up and began to tap it gently in time. Hiiro turned up the volume a little to compensate for the harsher sound of the jingles and Duo smiled and stood while the cords he was playing slowly became more and more complicated. ‘Yeah,’ Duo smiled daring to try some more intricate sounds of his own while his slight body began to sway. Hiiro smiled and continued to play as a warm, honest smile of absolute contentment graced his lips when Duo began to dance. 

**

‘Shut up!’ CRASH! BANG! RATTLE! ‘It’s past nine already!’

‘Sorry, Mrs. Udon!’ Duo yelled out the window dodging another stray projectile that bounced off the garage wall where they practiced. ‘Guess we’d better call it a night,’ he sighed laying his timbrel aside. 

Hiiro followed suit powering down his equipment and stowing his guitar while Trowa, the newest member of their backyard band, laid his drum sticks down and wiped his shiny forehead with the towel around his neck. Why he had to perform without a shirt was not only a mystery, but Duo found it dubiously distracting since the kid had the physique of a body builder. He assumed it was due to years of beating the drums, but regardless of where it came from it was hard to concentrate with him sitting there in all his sixteen years of glory looking like Adonis in chains...er...well...wrist cuffs...umm bands...right. 

‘Let’s listen to the playback up in your room,’ Duo told Hiiro gathering the things they needed before they headed out. 

Hiiro’s guardian, a doctor with a long history in their community, had set out a tray of finger sandwiches and drinks for them as usual. Duo liked him very much even if he rarely ever actually saw him because he’d been doing little things like this for him and Hiiro for years and now included Towa in his kindness. ‘Thanks J!’ he shouted knowing the doctor would be puttering around in the house somewhere while they grabbed the snacks and ran upstairs. 

‘You added an extra beat in the second score,’ Duo observed. 

‘I can do it like the sheet says, but it feels empty,’ Trowa explained. 

‘Naw...I like it,’ Duo countered. ‘What’dyu think Hiiro?’

‘Hn.’

‘Your brilliance astounds me,’ Duo breathed evenly. 

‘It’s good,’ Hiiro chuckled dropping his leg over his thighs so he could kick him in the butt where he lay across the foot of the bed. 

‘We need a bass,’ Trowa commented. 

‘I asked Wufei, that Chinese kid that plays in the jazz band after school,’ Duo explained. ‘He said he’d come hear us at Jo Jo’s this weekend.’ 

‘I heard he’s pretty good,’ Trowa mused. 

‘Yeah...Hilde said he’s already gotten a scholarship to some hoity music school upstate,’ Duo told them. ‘Some classical…jazz...Hindu shit or something,’ he shrugged rolling over under Hiiro’s leg since he hadn’t seen fit to move it off of top of him. 

‘Honkyoku,’ Hiiro smirked while his toes pinched and played with the hem of Duo’s shirt teasingly. 

‘I should take off,’ Trowa said standing to gather his things. 

‘Umm, wait up,’ Duo said also moving to get his things. 

‘You don’t have to leave,’ Trowa reasoned pulling on his riding jacket. Okay…now that was just totally unfair because he looked even better with his skin glowing softly from under the black denim.

‘Can you drop me at Jo’s?’ Duo asked. ‘I need to go over Saturday’s gig,’ he told him donning his jacket as well. 

‘I’ll take you,’ Hiiro offered. 

‘You’re already snuggled in,’ Duo reasoned. 

‘I don’t mind,’ he countered already in his jacket and shoes and ready to go. 

‘K...you wanna meet us over there?’ Duo aksed Trowa. 

‘Naw...I need to run by Cathy’s,’ he replied. 

‘Later, J!’ Duo shouted as they filed out the front door hearing a distant grunt in reply that proved the man was, indeed, alive and present. 

Thursday night at Jo Jo’s was usually nothing to write home about. It was mostly tired businessmen taking a moment out of their busy days to sit and listen to some soothing sounds and get a bite to eat in the dimly lit, little retreat. It was a far cry from the insanity that overtook the place on Saturdays. An insanity Duo was particularly proud to be a major cause of. They’d tried everything from jazz, which was one of Hiiro’s favorites, to techno pop, which was something Trowa appeared to have an affinity for, but when all was said and done Duo’s idea of a nice mid section pop/rock genera had pretty much satisfied them all. Duo had never taken up another instrument, though he’d threatened to many times. It seemed that after the years of working with the timbrel in the school band, which was something they still did, he simply couldn’t tolerate being tied down to anything that restricted his movements. In the end his boundless energy and love for fraternizing with the audience had earned him the spot of lead singer and although his voice really wasn’t anything to write home about his spirit and enthusiasm never failed to seamlessly connect the band to the people. However, his band mates understood he had little idea that he had become the heart and soul of the music.

‘Hey, guys,’ Noin greeted them as her dark hair glinted blue in the low lights from behind the bar. ‘What brings you out tonight?’ she asked setting a coke in front of each of them when they took their usual seats at the bar. 

It was nice. Jo had a pianist playing some sort of soft classical sound that made Duo feel like he needed to whisper everything for fear of disturbing the gentle ripples of the music. 

‘Hi,’ Duo returned. ‘Jo around?’ he asked scanning the tranquil patrons that grazed on their meals and watched the performer at the grand piano on the small stage in the corner. 

‘No...sorry,’ she replied. ‘Did you try up at the Mansion?’ 

‘Naw...it’s not that important,’ Duo told her sipping his soda beside Hiiro. 

He wouldn’t have gone to the Mansion anyway. No one did without a very good reason. It was a place for members only and most people really didn’t want to know what went on inside. Jo appeared to be friends with the owner/operator of the place though, and would often visit. Duo’s thoughts were disturbed by the soft touch of Hiiro’s fingers along his upper arm when he brushed them gently along his bicep to gain his attention. For a moment Duo wondered if he’d done it just so he’d see him smiling, then realized he was being beckoned to follow his gaze finding the pianist on the receiving end. 

‘Hey…isn’t he that Winner kid?’ he mused. 

‘Yeah,’ Noin smiled. ‘You know him?’

‘He’s in our band class at school,’ he explained. ‘Just started about a week ago. I guess he just transferred in. I didn’t know he played the piano too.’ 

‘What’s he play in the band?’

‘Violin,’ Duo replied. ‘He’s damn good too. Supposed to be some kind of prodigy or something,’ he shrugged. 

‘Weird.’ 

‘Why’s that?’

‘I just wonder why he’s going to Sanc High,’ she explained. ‘I mean his dad’s worth what, a few _trillion_ dollars? It just seems weird he’d be saddled with a little place like this.’ 

‘He’s that Winner?’ Duo exclaimed looking on the small, blond boy at the piano with renewed respect. ‘Hn,’ he grunted turning to his partner. ‘What’dyu think about working with a keyboard?’

They decided to hang around until the set was over and talk with him. Neither of them had ever really taken much of an interest in him as his specialty appeared to be classical and they did _not_ play classical music. However, the idea of a keyboard in the band sounded like a pretty decent idea, so it was worth a shot to at least ask and see where things went. 

‘Hi,’ Duo smiled at his newest classmate once he saw he was preparing to leave. ‘You’re Quatre right?’ 

‘Oh, hello,’ he replied shyly. ‘Yes...You’re in my band class,’ he smiled. 

‘Yeah, I’m Duo...this is Hiiro,’ he replied. ‘We play here on Saturday nights.’ 

‘You’re in a band?’ Quatre asked politely. 

‘Yeah...Gundam Wing...ever heard of it?’ Duo grinned hopefully. 

‘No...sorry.’ 

Duo drooped, but it didn’t last long. ‘Hey, why don’t you come by this Saturday?’ he asked. ‘We’re more of a pop/rock sound, but you might enjoy it, huh?’ he prompted liking the way he was smiling at the idea. 

‘I’d like that, thank you.’ 

‘Great,’ Duo chirped. ‘Listen, we’re kind of looking for a new sound, so if you like us maybe we could get together and jam sometime,’ he added and the brilliant shine that seeped into Quatre’s big, aquamarine eyes just about took his breath away because he’d never seen pure unadulterated happiness displayed quite so blatantly before. 

‘A…alright.’

‘Cool,’ he smiled. ‘See ya in class then,’ he told him taking his leave with Hiiro following along in his wake. 

**

‘Hey! Wufei!’ 

‘You guys sound great!’ he shouted over the din while they prepared to take their first break of the night. 

‘Thanks,’ Duo said bouncing down the stairs as the energy of the set was still coursing through him infecting every living thing that it touched in much the same way. There had already been two fights and one raid on the back parking lot that turned up several very embarrassed couples in compromising positions. ‘Come on!’ he shouted shaking off the many hands that were trying to reach out and touch him from the crowd while he led his clique to Jo Jo’s office, which was the only place they could get a moments peace. ‘Whoo! Damn, I love it when the crowds fired up!’ he laughed popping up on top of the owners desk with his entire body fidgeting and moving about as his fingers tapped his drink and toes taped the chair he’d rested them on. 

‘You really know how to work the crowd,’ Wufei grinned. 

‘Feels more like they’re working me,’ Duo chuckled. ‘Hey, but you liked it, huh?’ he added jumping up from his seat to pace. ‘Did you notice the second song in the third set? That’s what I’m talking about, man! It needs more sound, a heart beat. You could really bring out the soul in that one with your bass,’ he rattled. 

‘Is he always like this?’ Wufei laughed. 

‘Inevitably,’ Trowa replied. 

‘He hasn’t even had his coffee yet,’ Hiiro chuckled. 

‘Oh, ha ha,’ Duo mocked, but the fake laugh turned real very quickly and he found his ass on the desktop again. ‘But seriously, man. Can’t ya feel it? It’s like its just screaming for more, right? Think you need to tweak the lyric’s on the end of the second verse too,’ he told Hiiro who wrote most of the words for the band. ‘They’re okay like they are, but it feels lacking somehow. Oh...and Trowa...what in the hell was that little ad lib at the end of `The Mercenaries Dream`? It totally rocked, man!’

‘Thanks.’ 

‘Felt that one in my tail bone! Think you can remember it for next time?’

‘Sure.’

‘Get the hell of my desk!’ 

‘JO!’ Duo barked happily jumping from his perch to sling his arms around Jo’s rather thick neck for a woman. ‘What’dja think? We packed the place right? Told ya we could…’

‘Duo.’

‘Oh, right,’ he grinned sheepishly releasing the six feet tall figure. ‘But ...’

‘Yes, yes, you were brilliant,’ Jo told him smiling in a way that just screamed `move along`. ‘Is this your newest member?’ was asked in a tone much too deep to support the long lashes and blue eye make up on the face it had originated from. 

‘We hope so, huh, Wufei?’ Duo grinned. 

‘Looks promising,’ he replied. 

‘Wonderful,’ Jo smiled moving behind the desk. ‘Perhaps with some hard work and a new arrangement you’ll start to sound like a real band.’

‘Damn it, Jo,’ Duo sighed. 

‘It’s coming along,’ Jo smiled understandingly. ‘Can I help it if I have high expectations?’ 

‘We might have a keyboard too,’ Duo suddenly gushed apparently happy with the idea that this person expected more from them. Trowa and Wufei looked curious, but there was no time for any further discussion when Hiiro stood announcing their break to be over. ‘We’ll talk about it after the set,’ Duo grinned bounding toward the door. He’d been disappointed that Quatre hadn’t shown up so far, but there was still hope. Hope that was brought to fruition when he spotted the blond standing quietly at the bottom of the stairs while they got ready to play. 

‘Hey, Quat!’ he shouted over the fill in music that was blaring from the speakers. ‘Come on up!’ 

*CRASH*TWANG*RATTLE*THUMP* 

Duo turned to regard his blushing drummer while he scrambled to right his fallen equipment. ‘What is _he_ doing here?’ Trowa hissed through his teeth in an attempt to keep his irritation over this development between the two of them while Quatre climbed the steps. 

‘He plays keyboard,’ Duo replied curiously while the symbols continued to clang together in Trowa’s effort to erect them. 

‘He’s classical,’ Trowa retorted clearly agitated both by Quatre’s presence and the stubborn symbols. 

‘Yeah, but with a little practice…’

‘Hi,’ Quatre smiled. 

*CRASH*BANG*CLATTER*

Duo watched in stunned amazement while Trowa tossed his sticks and went after his equipment with a long suffering roll of his emerald eyes. 

‘Wow,’ Quatre interjected. ‘You guy’s really pack them in,’ he smiled. 

‘Don’t let it intimidate ya,’ Duo smiled retrieving one of Trowa’s run away symbols. 

‘Oh, it doesn’t,’ he assured him. ‘I’ve played for much larger audiences than this,’ he told him absently, turning his attention to where Hiiro was donning his guitar, which meant he missed the drop jawed expression on Duo’s face. ‘It has a wonderful sound,’ he smiled, but Hiiro just nodded. ‘Your drummer is amazing too,’ he told Duo. ‘Does he always play half naked?’

‘Ummm.’

‘You could use more bass though. Do you mind if I record the second half?’

‘Uh…’ 

‘Yes,’ Trowa grumbled stomping by the pair to set his equipment once again. 

‘Not at all,’ Duo smiled `accidentally` bumping into Trowa and knocking the symbols over for a third time, but Quatre just laughed while he scrambled after them. 

They didn’t see him again until band class on Monday, which really kind of disappointed Duo since he’d wanted to hear his opinions after the show. 

‘Hi, Duo,’ Quatre smiled after class had ended and being their last class of the day they were allowed some free time to play around and practice if they wanted, which was a privilege Duo and his friends had always blatantly abused. 

‘Hey, what happened to you after the show?’ Duo asked. ‘You totally missed the after party, man.’ 

‘Sorry,’ he apologized making him wish he hadn’t picked on him. ‘Here, I made some changes in the arrangement,’ he told him handing him a disk. ‘I hope you don’t mind.’ 

‘Uh...’

‘There’s nothing wrong with Hiiro’s arrangements,’ Trowa grumbled from his seat nearby. 

‘The music is wonderful,’ Quatre agreed. ‘But it lacks discipline. No offense,’ he smiled at Hiiro. 

‘None taken,’ Hiiro replied. 

‘What in the hell do you mean `none taken`?’ Trowa groused. ‘This guy waltzes in and...’

‘That’s Duo’s score,’ Hiiro cut him off. 

‘Then I can see why it was so wild and free,’ Quatre chuckled while Duo blushed. ‘I just...tamed it a little. Scrap it if you don’t like it,’ he told them turning to leave. 

‘Hey,’ Duo called after him. ‘Don’t forget rehearsal after school and congrat’s on bagging the solo for the concert,’ he smiled. 

‘Thanks,’ Quatre smiled before leaving. 

‘What is your problem with him?’ Duo asked the moment he was out of ear shot. 

‘Why do we need some spoiled, little rich kid messing with things?’ Trowa grumbled.

‘He’s a professional,’ Duo countered. 

‘He’s an over educated, overbearing, spoiled, little rich boy that thinks he can just march in here, take all the solo’s and get anything he wants by just shaking his pretty, little ass!’ Trowa growled crossing his arms in a huff when he finished while Duo stared at him dumbfounded before he leaned over so he could see Hiiro behind him. 

‘Did you notice he had a pretty, little ass?’ he grinned. 

‘Oh, shut up!’ Trowa snarled jumping from his seat so fast he dragged the little desk with him. ‘You know what I mean! Never mind,’ he growled snatching his jacket off the hanger by the door. ‘Count me out today, I gotta go help Cathy clean the damn garage anyway,’ he grumped making a hasty exit while Duo finally allowed the chuckle in his throat to rise up and escape. 

‘I think our little skin beater has a wee, little crush,’ Duo giggled packing away his timbrel. 

‘It doesn’t bother you?’ Hiiro asked. 

‘What?’ Duo shrugged. ‘’Cause it’s a guy?’ he asked receiving a nod. ‘Not really,’ he answered. ‘It’ll be hard if Quat’s not interested I guess,’ he reasoned. ‘Come on...we can get a head start and check out the changes Quatre made,’ he told him shouldering his bag. 

‘Hey, guys! Wait up!’ Wufei called jogging to catch up with his base lugging along at his side in its case. 

‘Hi, Fei,’ Duo smiled. ‘Coming to join us after all?’ 

‘What’d he just call me?’ he asked quirking a brow at Hiiro who chuckled. 

‘Well, you look a little fey,’ Duo grinned opening the door on his van so they could put their stuff inside. 

‘You calling me a fairy?’ Wufei groused playfully almost spraining his wrist when he jerked on the passenger side door, which hadn’t opened since Duo bought the beat up, old van. 

‘Maybe we should buy him a skirt,’ Duo grinned at Hiiro. 

‘Come’re, pretty boy,’ Wufei challenged. ‘I’ll show you who needs to be wearing the …’ 

*CREAK*CATHUNK!*

‘Hey, it budged!’ Duo smiled at his Japanese friend while he stood with the door open and ummm…grinned?...at Wufei. 

Wufei looked at him and the crumpled door handle in his hand nervously before crawling in the van and Hiiro ended up sacrificing his belt to the van door since now it refused to stay shut before they got underway. 

‘Damn, that kid really knows his stuff,’ Wufei observed while they listened to the disk Quatre had given them during the ride to Hiiro’s. 

‘He’s even accounted for the bass parts,’ Duo commented. ‘I wonder who he got to back him up while he put this together,’ he mused. ‘It sounds kind of strange with other people playing it, huh?’ 

‘Your vocals are what make it work,’ Hiiro interjected pointing out the lack of a vocalist on the disk. 

…and we...sailed the starlit sky.. on a wing and a prayer and a demons sigh… and it really doesn’t matter just how hard they try...they’ll never chain us down...no I’ll never be alone...just as long as I have youuuu…

Duo sang the lyric’s that Hiiro had written along with the music when he’d first composed the tune while humming at the wheel of the van during a road trip the year before. 

‘Jo was right,’ Hiiro smiled. ‘It sounds a lot better this way.’ 

‘Let’s see what we can do with it in the studio,’ Duo agreed launching into the song again while they pulled up beside a cute, little red convertible at a red light. 

‘Hey, look!’ the boy sitting in the passenger side, one Cliff Randell by name and not exactly one of Duo’s favorite people, laughed. ‘It’s the tambourine man!’ he jeered laughing with the blonde girl by his side for a moment before he suddenly found himself on the receiving end of some very volatile, violet eyes when Duo jumped out of the van without a second thought and attacked him. 

‘Shit!’ Wufei gasped following Hiiro who was already out of the van pulling Duo off the shrieking boy. 

‘Let go!’ Duo snarled trying to get to him, but Hiiro had him around the chest. 

‘You’re insane!’ Cliff shouted in a terrified voice cowering in the seat against his shocked companion whose blue eyes were staring intently at Hiiro. 

‘I’ll kill you, you smart mouthed, little fuck!’ Duo growled, suddenly snapping his head back and smacking Hiiro in the face almost gaining his freedom in the process, but he just managed to hang on. 

‘Get the hell out of here!’ Hiiro told them doing his best to hold onto the squirming Duo, but the girl took the hint and drove off. ‘Settle down!’ he growled shaking Duo so hard it rattled his brains enough to calm him. 

‘Let go,’ he told him in a much calmer, yet still restrained tone. 

‘No.’ 

‘Let go!’ Duo demanded squirming again, but it was no use as Hiiro only tightened his hold. 

‘What in the hell was that all about?’ Wufei asked. 

‘Old rivalry,’ Hiiro explained.

‘Let go,’ Duo said again. 

‘No.’

‘Damn it.’ 

Wufei could only watch while Duo slowly, very slowly began to relax and return to the calm, happy person that he’d know up till then. Hiiro refused to lesson his grip until he was completely relaxed and compliant again and when he did Duo didn’t bother pulling away from his embrace. 

‘Sorry,’ Duo sighed leaning back into his friends strong arms. 

‘You okay?’ Hiiro asked daring to move his hand enough to brush his thick bangs from his violet eyes. Duo nodded turning enough to lay his forehead against Hiiro’s and close his eyes. 

‘He just pisses me off,’ he told him needlessly. 

‘Umm, guys?’ Wufei interjected. ‘We’re in the middle of the street,’ he reminded them looking very embarrassed for having had to say it. 

‘You drive,’ Duo said tossing the startled Wufei the keys. 

He didn’t say a word when they piled into the passenger seat together with Hiiro draping an arm around him and pulling him close while Duo rested his head on his shoulder. Cliff’s comment hadn’t been kind, but Duo’s reaction was something on the severe side in his opinion. An old rivalry Hiiro had said. It made him wonder just what had transpired between them in the past. Duo’s eyes had slid shut by the time they arrived at Hiiro’s place and Wufei couldn’t help watching them out of the corner of his eye while Hiiro gazed silently down at him. He looked up and smiled softly at their Chinese companion confirming his suspicions, but from the look in his clear blue eyes it was obvious Hiiro really didn’t want Duo to realize just how much he really cared so they left it at that. Once they were inside the little garage that served as a studio for the band the entire incident appeared to have been completely forgotten. 

‘Quat! Hey, man, come on in,’ Duo smiled at the blond an hour later. 

‘Hi,’ Quatre returned nodding in greeting to the others. ‘Trowa’s not here?’ he asked noticing his absence. 

‘He had some other stuff to do,’ Duo explained. 

‘I don’t think he likes me very much,’ he chuckled picking up Duo’s timbrel for inspection. 

‘Oh, I think he’ll warm up,’ Duo grinned flashing Hiiro a knowing glance. ‘We liked the work on the arrangement,’ he told him. ‘Wanna hear what we’ve done so far?’ 

‘Thanks,’ Quatre replied. ‘Are you aware of this timbrel’s origin?’ he asked holding it out for him. 

‘Umm, Sister Helen gave it to me when I was twelve,’ he informed him. 

‘She’s a generous soul,’ Quatre chuckled. 

‘You...like it?’ Duo asked amazed that he’d even give it a second glance. 

‘That’s the insignia of the House of Kinko Kurasawa,’ Quatre informed him pointing out a small carving on the inner side of the aged wooden hoop. 

‘Who?’ Duo asked. 

‘He was a komuso of the thirteenth century that spent his life gathering the thirty six pieces of the kinko ryu honkyoku,’ Hiiro explained. 

‘A...komuso?’ Duo asked studying the little carving more intently. 

‘A zen monk of Japan,’ Wufei went on. ‘If that’s really from that era it’s got to be worth…’

‘Thousands,’ Quatre tossed in. 

‘But then…why would she give it to me?’ Duo wondered thoughtfully. 

‘Because you bring it to life,’ Hiiro told him. 

Duo played with renewed vigor that night and they ended the evening very happy with the work they’d done in spite of their missing drummer. J had left cakes and tea in the kitchen for them, which they devoured hungrily and Duo dropped a new pack of the specialized batteries Hiiro said J was always grousing about on the table before following Hiiro out to the garage to retrieve his timbrel. Contrary to his usual carefree treatment of the little instrument he bothered to wrap it in a cloth lovingly tying it securely to protect it. Hiiro went to a corner and extracted an old hat box from a pile of junk offering it to Duo who accepted happily laying his treasure within. Having tucked it into its new home safe and sound he smiled and turned gasping softly as Hiiro was standing not an inch behind him in the darkened garage. 

‘Are you okay?’ he asked choosing to look at the hat box behind him instead of at Duo himself. 

‘Uh...yeah...I’m fine,’ Duo replied through a suddenly dry throat. 

‘You shouldn’t let Cliff bother you so much,’ Hiiro told him fighting the urge to lift his gaze. 

‘I know,’ Duo replied sounding nervous and frightened all of a sudden as his violet eyes darted from the door to the floor and back again. 

‘Duo…’

‘I’d better go,’ he cut him off slipping sideways out from in between him and the counter with the case firmly clasped in his hand while he headed for the door. ‘I still have to take Wufei home,’ he reminded him. 

Hiiro didn’t move or turn his head when the door shut behind him. He only stood silently with his blue eyes squeezed shut for a long moment, then slowly he opened them and went to join the others. 

The next day all Duo could talk about was the new arrangements and how much the new sound was going to open things up for them. He couldn’t wait for Jo to hear them that weekend and absolutely refused to hear any of Trowa’s grumbling on the matter. Trowa finally just sulled up and sat apart from them listening, but refusing to contribute, which was fine with Duo since all he’d done so far was grouse. By the time they made it to the studio after school to try out some of the new stuff they’d been talking about Trowa had been firmly put in his place and refused to talk to anyone at all save Hiiro, which meant there were a lot of one word conversations going on. 

‘Let’s try that one again,’ Duo told them. Quatre had brought along a very nice electronic keyboard and proven his abilities spanned a much wider genera than just classical music which only served to make Trowa even pissier. ‘You think you could actually _keep time_ this time?’ Duo reprimanded their muscular drummer. 

‘If you don’t like the way I play then get _him_ to do it!’ Trowa barked pointing at Quatre as finding out he was the one to play all the instruments on the demo disk he’d made hadn’t improved Trowa’s demeanor towards him at all. 

‘Actually, I don’t play drums,’ Quatre piped in smiling shyly into Trowa’s surprised emerald eyes. ‘I’m afraid I have no sense of timing at all,’ he told him blushing softly. 

‘But then...how did you…?’ Trowa asked dumbfounded by the idea. 

‘I use an electronic pulse devise,’ Quatre told him pulling the little thing from his pants pocket. ‘It thumps,’ he explained. ‘I can feel it against my leg, but I don’t need it when there’s a drummer like you,’ he smiled replacing the device. 

‘Like...me?’ Trowa blinked. 

‘You’re better than it,’ Quatre explained. ‘You don’t slow down when your batteries get weak,’ he chuckled. ‘There’s nothing more embarrassing than playing the William Tell Overture in a steadily declining beat,’ he laughed. 

‘When did that happen?’ Duo asked. 

‘Last year,’ he sighed. ‘At the summer concert with the London Symphony Orchestra.’

Wufei let out a long, sustained whistle. ‘What in the hell’re you doing in a garage in Sanc?’ 

‘I don’t know,’ Quatre shrugged. ‘I guess father thought I needed a break from the pressure,’ he told them. ‘This is much nicer anyway,’ he smiled directing it once again at Trowa whose upper lip twitched in response. 

‘Well, alright then,’ the drummer said breaking into a huge grin as the long fingers of his right hand twirled his drum stick expertly while his right foot counted off the lead in and suddenly the entire garage was filled with a back beat rhythm that inspired Mrs. Undon into an all out war with the side of the garage before the night was over. 

They found pound cake and orange juice waiting for them on the kitchen counter that night and an extra little gift of a box of strawberry pocky for Duo by way of thanks for the batteries, which he shared anyway while they discussed the nights work. 

All went well until Quatre suddenly piped up with, ‘Do you need a ride home?’ 

‘In that?’ Trowa asked pointing at the canary yellow Corvette Quatre had driven that day. 

‘Oh, I forgot,’ Quatre amended. ‘You have your bike, right?’ He hadn’t even finished speaking before the keys to said bike skittered to a halt in front of Wufei. 

‘You need a ride, right?’ he asked and Wufei grinned. 

‘Wanna drive?’ Quatre smiled holding out his keys, which were snatched out of his hand so quickly he barely had time to chuckle while Trowa ran out the door. ‘See you guys tomorrow,’ he smiled before leaving. 

‘He gave him the keys,’ Duo said deadpan. 

‘Think he’ll ever get to drive again?’ Wufei wondered. 

‘I doubt he really wants to,’ Hiiro interjected and all fell silent. 

‘Well,’ Duo finally broke the silence. ‘That takes twenty minutes off my drive. You okay on the bike?’ he asked and Wufei just looked at him like `please`. ‘K...see you tomorrow then,’ he said managing to slip out the door before Hiiro had time to slip out of his chair and see him off. 

‘You wanna talk about it?’ Wufei asked seeing the disturbed expression on his face. 

‘No,’ was the only response he received. 

The rest of the week went along in much the same way. They met after school, practiced until Mrs. Udon started tossing grenades, ate their well planned and executed snacks and went their separate ways. Trowa had taken to driving with Quatre leaving his bike with Wufei for the most part. He didn’t mind since he had a mode of transportation of his own and didn’t need to depend on Duo who, considering the condition of his van, wasn’t really all that dependable anyway. However, on Friday afternoon Hiiro threw a new bone in the pot that both excited and concerned the group. Apparently, he’d been working on a new song and felt it was time to present it, the problem being that the other’s liked it so much they wanted to play it in the set the next night and only had a few hours to put it together and make it work before the show. It wasn’t really a complicated piece musically, but the arrangement would take a little time and Duo had to not only memorize the lyric’s, but figure out what they meant to him so he could offer them up to the crowd with honest emotion. He had to read through them only once to find that meaning and sang it through for the first time with perfect feeling. 

I held your  
damp shoulders to warm you.  
Your fingers tremble;  
what are they seeking?

Even if it's in broken speech,  
I want you to tell me your pain.  
Pretending that the pain's worn off  
doesn't make you an adult.

I want to protect that look in your eyes  
Believe in the love  
that can change sadness to strength.

Just wild beat communication  
Don't be afraid of anything.  
Because no one's going to take away  
our shared feelings of now.

Just wild beat communication  
While being pounded by rain  
I want to express this unfading passion  
with my entire body, tonight!

I want to spend the night  
nestled close to you until the faraway dawn.  
We can lose everything else,  
as long as we don't lose tenderness.

Through kisses, more than words,  
we feel each other's heartbeats,  
drawing passion near;  
momentary, yet eternal...

I want to gaze at you, painfully, intensely.  
You're so precious to me  
it almost brings me to tears.

Just wild beat communication  
Don't surrender anything,  
because when you have someone who understands you,  
you can fight on.

Just wild beat communication  
Don't let go of love  
Unleash all of the complexities of your heart, and show me  
your true self, overflowing and passionate, tonight!

Just wild beat communication  
Don't be afraid of anything.  
Because noone's going to take away  
our shared feelings of now.

Just wild beat communication  
While being pounded by rain  
I want to express this unfading passion  
with my entire body, tonight!

Just wild beat communication  
While being pounded by rain  
I want to express this unfading passion  
with my entire body, tonight!

Upon the last tremor of the last word of the song Duo fell to his knees while his band mates looked on in shocked amazement. Even the usual complaints from Mrs. Udon had ceased and all lay deathly quite save for the labored breathing of one slightly shaken, violet eyed boy. 

‘I can’t do this,’ he whispered dropping his microphone on the floor and with a loud thud and a squeal of feedback he drew himself to his feet and left. 

‘Daaaamn,’ Wufei exclaimed. ‘You wrote that?’ he asked skeptically of their lead guitarist, but Hiiro was lost gazing at where Duo had been. 

‘Is he coming back?’ Quatre asked softly. 

‘It’s late anyway,’ Trowa reminded them laying his sticks down. 

‘Yeah,’ Wufei agreed. 

‘He’s still going to sing tomorrow, right?’ Quatre asked while they prepared to leave. 

‘He’ll be okay,’ Trowa assured him. 

‘I don’t get it,’ Quatre sighed. ‘Why’d he get so upset? I thought it was wonderful. Maybe I should go talk to him.’ 

‘Leave it alone,’ Wufei interjected in a tone that brooked no room for argument and served to put a neat end to the conversation. 

No one brought up the new song at practice the next day since Duo not only showed up, but seemed in very high spirits since this would be their debut performance. Unlike their usual gigs Jo showed up about halfway through the set showing some real interest in them for a change. This only served to fire Duo up even more, which fired the crowd up, which brought the police out for crowd control, which so totally thrilled him he ended up diving into the audience and being carried about like a beach ball, then dumped back on the stage laughing like a lunatic. Only Trowa noticed the fact that he hadn’t once draped, pawed or otherwise man handled Hiiro through the entire performance like he usually did, which was a fact that showed in the Hiiro's performance. 

‘Whoooooooooo! That was freaking awesome! Did you see that?! They actually carried me around! Now, you cannot tell me you had a problem with _that_ performance!’ Duo chattered while they filed into Jo’s office with the owner hot on their heels. 

‘Wow! I can’t believe the energy out there,’ Quatre gushed bouncing on his heels. ‘You sure don’t get anything like that in a concert hall!’ 

‘You were great!’ Trowa beamed. 

‘You really think so?’ he asked fairly vibrating with life. 

‘Oh, hell yeah!’ Trowa smiled unable to move more than a foot away from him as he’d found himself more and more addicted to his presence as time wore on and this was just so over the top he didn’t want to miss a moment. 

‘You were better,’ Quatre laughed.

‘I just keep time,’ Trowa said modestly. 

‘You’re the backbone!’ Quatre countered. 

‘Oh, get a room already!’ Duo interjected laughing along with the rest of them until Quatre suddenly flung himself into Trowa’s arms and kissed him full on the mouth. 

For a long moment they all just stared drop jawed at them unable to comprehend what was happening until he slowly released him blushing furiously and wiping his shimmering pink lips as he pulled away. 

‘Sorry,’ he offered shyly. ‘I guess I got a little overexcitmuff! UN!….unnn…mmmmmmmnnnn,’ he groaned when Trowa snatching him up right off his feet and kissed him back and Quatre’s feet never hit the floor before he was being pushed into the little closet along the wall and the door snapped shut behind them. 

‘Umm…’ Duo began still at a loss for words. 

‘Right,’ Jo barked suddenly. ‘Down to business.’ No one questioned the intelligence of ignoring what had just taken place and turned gratefully to the new topic at hand. ‘You still need a lot of work.’ Duo sighed. ‘However, I think you’ve found your sound,’ Jo smiled at him smiling again. ‘Therefore, next weekend I will have someone come to hear you. I suggest you come up with something particularly impressive before then.’ It took no more time for Jo to move to the closet door than to say these words. ‘I’m afraid your time is up.’ Duo winced not knowing what to expect when the door was opened. What they found was two very flushed young men who appeared to be joined at the mouth and in the process of deflowering each other, but thankfully they’d only managed to get to second base before they were disturbed. It took a minute to extract them, but once they were separated and on their feet again Jo addressed them personally. ‘Personally I commend your audacity.’ Duo didn’t look at them during this speech. ‘However,’ Jo went on. ‘You might want to consider keeping a low profile as these things tend to work against you once you’ve made a name for yourselves. I’ll see you all next week then,’ and it was over. 

At least until they piled into Duo’s van, whereupon Trowa once again attacked Quatre pulling him behind the drums in the back for a little privacy. Wufei sniggered, Hiiro sighed and Duo just kept his eyes on the scenery outside his window while Hiiro drove. 

‘You’re awfully subdued for someone who just got told he’s going to be scouted next weekend,’ Wufei prompted. 

‘It’s cool, huh?’ Duo smiled half heartedly avoiding Hiiro’s gaze. 

‘Don’t pop a vein or anything,’ Wufei grumbled, then paused and noted how Duo’s eyes kept flicking to the back of the van. ‘Cute aren’t they?’ he smiled glancing back there himself. 

‘It’ll suck if it doesn’t work out,’ Duo sighed. 

‘What makes you think it won’t work?’ Wufei asked. 

‘I didn’t say it wouldn’t,’ Duo corrected. ‘But you heard Jo...if it gets out they’re together it’ll cause problems.’

‘Is that all that’s bothering you?’ Hiiro asked sounding a touch irritated. 

‘No,’ he grumbled. ‘It’d suck if it messed up the band, but...I dunno...guess I just don’t wanna see them get hurt.’

‘Nothing grows without change,’ Wufei smiled. 

‘You sound like a fortune cookie,’ Duo teased tossing a stray napkin at him. 

‘Ahhh sooo,’ he played along in a horribly fake accent that made is own seem like a song. ‘Confucius say be good to little Chinese friend or ow! Ha ha, hey! No fair pinching!’ Wufei laughed reaching to retaliate, but his wrist was suddenly, painfully immobilized when Hiiro instinctively prevented his attack. Hiiro released him quickly enough blushing softly at Duo’s mildly shocked expression. ‘You two really need to talk,’ Wufei sighed leaning back in his seat and falling quite. 

There was an after party, but none of them really felt like going and since it was going to happen with or without them they decided to call it a night. Unsurprisingly, Trowa had them drop him and Quatre off at his place picking Quatre up in his arms half way up the walk and carrying him into his and his sisters home kissing him all the way. The others didn’t even want to discuss what was going to happen when his overprotective sister got wind of their new affection for one another. Duo had asked to be dropped next, but Hiiro insisted on dropping Wufei off first since it was Duo’s van and Hiiro lived closer than anyone else, so he couldn’t argue. It wasn’t uncommon for Hiiro to take the van home at night especially when all the equipment was in it. Either way though, Wufei had to be dropped first. Things between them were deafeningly quiet after that until they pulled up in front of Hiiro’s place and he shut off the engine. 

‘I’ll walk from here,’ Duo commented. 

‘Wufei’s right,’ Hiiro said softly still staring straight ahead. ‘We need to talk.’

‘Why?’ Duo smiled trying to look relaxed and failing miserably. ‘I think things are coming along pretty good. Once Quatre and Trowa get over the first kiss phase...’

‘About us.’

‘…………….’

‘You’re pushing me away.’

‘You’re right here,’ Duo countered. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking ……….’ His words stalled the moment he looked into Hiiro’s dark eyes. 

‘I think you do,’ Hiiro countered. 

‘Hiiro,’ Duo breathed feeling his heart suddenly pumping frantically while his fingers searched behind him for the door handle, but he was too late and Hiiro was upon him, his mouth closing solidly over his lips as his arms slipped effortlessly around his thin body while he drank deeply of the sweet nectar that was purely Duo. 

‘H...Hiiro...please…don’t,’ Duo gasped feeling his body light on fire when Hiiro kissed him again. 

‘You don’t mean that,’ he countered breathlessly moving closer, over top of him, kissing him deeply again and again, his entire body and mind relishing every single moment they were in contact like he’d dreamed of for so very long. Duo’s sweet response filled him with joy while he hungrily kissed him back even if he was squirming and wriggling to get away. 

‘Hiiro...please,’ Duo begged and his sobbing tone broke Hiiro out of his impassioned haze long enough to realize he was crying and the shock gave him pause long enough for Duo’s hand to find the door handle and a moment later he was fleeing down the sidewalk leaving a very confused, very frustrated Japanese boy behind. 

It was a full hour later that Duo lay drying his tears on his pillow in his room. This was how it had always been, him in his little room at the Maxwell Church, Father down in his study, Sister already tucked away in her bed...and Hiiro...he didn’t even have to look to know the silent Asian boy was sitting in his windowsill watching him quietly. 

‘I’m alright,’ he told him without picking up his head. 

‘I’m sorry,’ Hiiro apologized. ‘I didn’t mean to hurt you.’ 

‘I know,’ Duo sighed. 

‘I can’t say I understand,’ he told him. ‘But…I promise you...I’ll never do anything like that again, so...you can go back to just being you, okay?’ There was no reply and Hiiro didn’t push for one. He only gave him ample time to make one if he wanted to and when he didn’t he simply turned to leave. 

‘Hiiro?’

‘Hn?’

‘………thanks.’

Hiiro smiled before he left knowing that he’d just managed to save the most precious thing in his life. The relief he felt at Duo’s willingness to forgive him was such that he didn’t stop smiling clear into the next day. Duo wasn’t exactly himself, but he wasn’t avoiding him anymore and he could live with that in a major way! Everything was okay again, or at least it would be and he was resolved to keep it that way no matter what, but this proved a little harder than he expected with the new couple equation in their lives. 

Contrary to Jo’s warnings Trowa appeared to be incapable of keeping his hands _or_ lips off of Quatre regardless of the time or place and Quatre wasn’t helping matters any by shaking his pretty, little ass all over the place and driving him nuts. They were having way too much fun and it was putting a serious woody in Hiiro’s pants that ached and solidified every time Duo walked by. A quick flip through the mental file for an image of Duo’s tears the night he’d made his advance put a quick tether on that feeling, strengthening his resolve to continue being his best friend whatever the cost. He didn’t understand because he’d felt the heat in Duo’s kiss and known by the feel of his body just how badly he really didn’t want to stop, but the tears were more than enough to put things on hold for awhile. He could wait. He’d wait forever if he had to. It wasn’t like he really had a choice in the matter. He never had. 

By Wednesday the rumors about Trowa and Quatre had become solid fact for most of the school. It didn’t help that Trowa insisted on walking the halls with his arm around the slight blond either. The couple of times they earned a jeer for this behavior had been quickly restrained with one emerald glare and a flex of Trowa’s rather over accentuated physic. It was on this day that Duo finally got enough of it. 

‘Do you _have_ to do that here!?’ he growled at the couple who had decided to make out in the moments they could spare while waiting for Duo and Hiiro to wash up after their bathroom break before band. 

‘Yes,’ was Trowa’s playfully garbled reply while he kissed his giggling boyfriend again. 

‘Geez! Show a little restraint will’ya?’ Duo grumbled. 

‘Believe me,’ Trowa grinned slipping his hand up the front of Quatre’s shirt to finger his tight, little tummy, ‘I am.’ Duo’s eyes flickered from Quatre’s stomach to Hiiro’s eyes, which were plastered to the spot for a second before he suddenly woke up and blushed jerking his gaze away.

‘You guys should save it for the bedroom,’ Duo groused tossing his paper towel in the can. 

‘Maybe _you_ should be a little less tight ass and try some honesty on for a change,’ Trowa countered showing he first real sign of irritation while he ushered his lover away. 

‘What the fuck is that s’pose to mean?’ Duo growled crossly, but the only answer he received was a duel glance at Hiiro’s back before they left. 

‘Damn it!’ 

‘You okay?’ Hiiro inquired. 

‘Everything’s just...changing so fast,’ he told him. 

‘Not everything,’ Hiiro smiled warmly picking his paper up where he’d missed the can for him. 

Duo watched him tidying up after him. He’d always been like that. Always there, his best friend, but things just weren’t the same anymore. They were seventeen years old and neither of them had ever even been on a date. They didn’t have girlfriends or even prospects for such and neither of them had ever shown the slightest interest in skirt chasing. What reason was there for any of that when they had...each other. 

‘Hiiro?’

‘Hn?’

‘Kiss me.’

‘W...what?’ Hiiro gasped dropping his bag and spilling half the contents on the floor. 

‘Kiss me,’ Duo repeated. 

‘But I thought...’

‘Never mind.’

‘NO!’ Hiiro barked abandoning the spilled bag. ‘No...I’m sorry…I just...you’re sure?’ he asked looking him deep in the eye for some sign of distress, but he only nodded and steadied himself. ‘Damn,’ he breathed taken by the sheer beauty of him, his long bangs shimmering over splendid violet eyes and a face he’d longed to touch so many times his fingernails ached and there he was...asking to be kissed. 

‘Don’t you...want to?’ Duo asked shyly dropping his gaze. 

‘Yes,’ Hiiro replied. ‘Very much,’ he told him swallowing the dryness in his throat. ‘But I want you to be okay more,’ he told him. 

‘I want you to,’ Duo told him gently and Hiiro’s resolve crumbled like a wet cookie. 

‘Duo,’ he breathed once while he closed the distance and laid his mouth on him. 

Duo took a step backward as if his body were trying to escape in spite of what his mouth was begging for, but Hiiro wasn’t about to let him run away so easily stepping into him, pressing him firmly against the wall, his body melding together with Duo’s in a way that made him wish they could stay this way forever while he tasted the sweet nectar of him once again. Duo groaned and lapped at him like a starving cat, his hands intercepting Hiiro’s attempts to touch him more intimately while his body did everything in its power to tempt him into demanding more. 

‘Wait…please,’ Duo gasped when the passion began to obliterate his reservations with each touch of Hiiro’s strong hands. 

‘Please,’ Hiiro echoed, but the word bore an entirely different meaning. 

‘What’s...happening?’ Duo breathed while Hiiro’s lips trailed down his neck. 

‘I love you, Duo,’ Hiiro told him pressing himself harder into him. ‘That’s all...I just...love you,’ he told him again kissing him deeply as his thigh slipped between Duo’s bringing a desperate groan from him while he all but crawled up the wall in his need to escape. 

‘Yeah, but...what the hell’re we s’pose to do now?’ 

‘You don’t know?’ Hiiro asked backing off a little. 

‘Well, I mean...I get that you wanna...well...no...not really,’ he replied blushing deeply while Hiiro stared at him thunderstruck. 

‘You really don’t know,’ Hiiro said more to himself than Duo backing away completely. 

‘We’re both guys, Hiiro,’ Duo reminded him. ‘I dunno...damn it...I just...I can’t imagine ever caring for anyone more than you and I like it when you kiss me, but...’

‘You don’t know how to go all the way.’

‘Of course I do!’ Duo growled defensively. ‘I’m not a moron, but I doubt what you have in mind is laying down for me and I just can’t figure out what’s supposed to be so great about my role in all this,’ he told him quietly. 

‘You’re scared it won’t feel good?’ Hiiro asked. 

‘Wouldn’t you be?’ he snorted. 

‘Quatre seems happy,’ Hiiro pointed out. 

‘Yeah,’ Duo sighed. ‘Weird, huh?’ 

‘It doesn’t matter,’ Hiiro smiled suddenly stepping up to him again and laying a small kiss on the corner of his mouth. ‘We don’t have to go there if you’re not ready.’ 

‘I may never be ready,’ Duo sighed dejectedly slipping his arms around his neck instinctively while he nibbled on his chin. 

‘This is enough.’ 

‘No it's not,’ Duo whispered arching his neck back pleasurably. 

‘Wanna skip band?’

‘Yeah.’

‘HIIRO!’

‘Hn?’

‘D…don’t...do that...ah gods...what’re you…?’

‘You don’t like it?’

‘You shouldn’t…put...your mouth…ah…damn.’

‘Why? Because I’m not a girl?’ 

‘Well...yeah.’

‘It’s all a part of you.’

‘UNN!’

Duo arched back sinking his fingers into his partners thick, chocolate hair as his hands pushed him away while his hips rose to meet him, his mind a blur of confused emotions and desires until suddenly his world went white and a thousand stars ignited in his vision at once and he found himself laying on Hiiro’s bed staring at the ceiling while he tried to catch his breath while an impossibly good, warm feeling gently nuzzled him between the legs. 

‘I can’t...believe…you did that,’ he panted chuckling for some god unknown reason. 

‘I’ll do more if you like,’ Hiiro told him relishing his new found admission to the realm of Duo’s body. 

‘Stop,’ Duo breathed pushing at his head. 

‘Why?’

‘’C...cause,’ Duo giggled rolling away from him. 

‘May I hold you?’ Hiiro asked not really sure where the boundaries lie. 

‘What about you?’ Duo asked uncertainly as his eyes glanced at the tale tell bulge in Hiiro’s jeans. 

‘I’ll take care of it later,’ he smiled crawling up beside him. ‘Right now I’d just really like to hold you for awhile,’ he told him pulling him into his arms. 

‘I’m sorry,’ Duo offered cuddling up close. 

‘For what?’ Hiiro chuckled. 

‘Everything,’ he sighed. ‘Being scared...leading you on…the whole hot and cold thing...for not knowing where this is going,’ he confessed softly kissing the hands that were cradled against his chest. 

‘Hm,’ Hiiro hummed snuggling his hair. ‘I was kind of hoping it’d just stick around,’ he smiled pulling him tight while he chuckled softly in his arms. 

Neither of them was quiet sure how long they laid there before they heard sounds coming from the garage. It seemed a shame to have to pull themselves from the warmth they’d created together, but they did have a gig to prepare for and since there was going to be a pro scout there and all it seemed like a good idea to go practice. 

‘Umm, Duo?’

‘Let’s do it again.’

‘But that’s the _sixth time!’ Quatre groaned stretching his tired fingers._

_‘Yeah, but I like that piece,’ Duo grinned leaning on Hiiro’s shoulder cockily._

_‘Let’s take a break,’ Wufei suggested._

_‘Aw, man! I was just hitting my stride,’ Duo groused._

_‘Okay...who gave him the caffeine?’ Trowa chuckled while Quatre wiped his brow with the towel around his neck giving him an opportunity to steal a kiss from the slight blond._

_‘Hey, man, this is a one hundred percent natural high,’ Duo laughed, then added, ‘Hey! Lets do that new number Hiiro wrote,’ bringing a huge smiled to Hiiro’s face and a curious wrinkle to everyone else’s before they could fully assimilate the first comment._

_‘Umm, I thought you didn’t like that one?’ Quatre asked uncertainly._

_‘What gave you that idea?’ Duo asked absently searching for the lyric’s in his bag. ‘It’s great don’t you think?’ he asked pulling the sheets out and looking them over._

_‘Well...yeah, but…’_

_‘If you can sing it like you did the other night it’d sure get a scouts attention,’ Wufei interjected._

_‘Let’s try it,’ Duo suggested happily waggling his brows at Hiiro while he prepared for the song._

_Hiiro positively beamed at him and Wufei almost burst out laughing at them. It took three tries to get all the way through it due to a giggling Duo who kept missing the cue and the once they had to start over because Trowa dropped his sticks trying to show off for Quatre. Duo spent the last few lines practically crawling up Hiiro’s back much to the shocked dismay of Quatre and Trowa and the amusement of Wufei._

_‘Umm, are you sure you’re okay?’ Quatre asked while Duo hugged onto Hiiro’s back laughing and Trowa pulled him down into his lap when the infectious merriment overtook his senses and kissed him._

_‘You guy’s ready for the big time?’ Wufei cut in with a huge grin, but before anyone could respond the garage door, which hadn’t been opened since it’d been turned into a music studio, did._

_Duo peered at the huge figure of a man silhouetted by the afternoon sun while Hiiro scowled and Quatre clung even tighter to his lover’s arms._

_‘Master Quatre,’ the man boomed in a deep baritone. ‘Please come with us.’_

_‘What in the hell?’ Trowa breathed._

_‘It’s alright,’ Quatre told him extracting himself from his stunned embrace. ‘I’ll explain later,’ he started to say, but the big man cut him off._

_‘Mr. Barton has been summoned as well.’_

_‘What?’_

_‘Why?’_

_‘Who in the hell’re you?’ Duo asked sternly stepping up beside his slight blond friend._

_‘Duo, please,’ Quatre pleaded softly. ‘There’s no reason to ask Trowa …’_

_‘We have our orders,’ the big man declared and for the first time the other’s noticed the milling numbers of dark haired men outside._

_‘He’s not to blame.’_

_‘For what?’ Trowa growled pulling Quatre to his side._

_‘Trowa,’ Quatre began, but…_

_‘This way please,’ the big man cut him off offering them the way to the open door of a black sedan._

_‘Whoa,’ Duo exclaimed. ‘This is starting to feel like a bad B movie. Quatre who are these guys?’_

_‘It’s alright,’ he told them again. ‘I can take care of this. Trowa, you don’t have to...’_

_‘I’m coming,’ Trowa declared._

_‘Please,’ the big man prompted again ushering them into the car and, offering the others a curt nod of his head, climbed in and drove off straight for the Mansion on the hill._

_‘Holy shit!’ Duo exclaimed seeing where they were headed. ‘What in the hell’re they taking them up there for?’_

_‘I thought that place was some kind of weird club for perverted old men or something,’ Wufei mused._

_‘Shit...Hiiro?’_

_‘Let’s go.’_

_‘Go where?’ Wufei asked bewilderedly. They were halfway up the hill before it sank in that they were going to bust into the Mansion and find out what was going on._

_‘You really think this is a good idea?’ Wufei asked for the twentieth time when they rolled to a stop a block from the huge, wrought iron front gate._

_‘We can’t just let them kidnap our band members,’ Duo hissed slapping his hands off where he had a death grip on his sleeve. ‘What’dya think?’ he asked Hiiro eyeing the wall and gate._

_‘Camera’s,’ Hiiro pointed out. ‘Lets go around back and have a look.’_

_Luckily the back gate, which was much smaller, apparently didn’t warrant such tight security, but they decided to go over the wall just the same in case of an alarm._

_‘Will you stop staring at his ass and just push him over!’ Wufei ground out impatiently wanting to get the ‘over the wall’ part over with and Duo giggled and Hiiro grinned before lobbing him over the wall._

_‘Ow! Damn it! Take it easy why don’t ya?’ Duo groused._

_Wufei was next, then Hiiro, then they paused a moment to get their bearings before following Hiiro off around the corner of the house and ran smack dab into a pair of full grown, snarling rottweiler’s, their black coats shimmering and their eyes glinting evilly in the fading evening light._

_‘Shit,’ Duo swore before they turned tail and beat a path straight for the fence._

_Hiiro had just hit it intent on sailing over when he heard his lover go down turning horrified eyes as he jumped back down to find him…laughing his ass off? The dogs rooted and nipped at his hips and crotch nudging him this way and that until they knocked him down and still they wallered around his hips while Hiiro and Wufei stood dumbstruck and watched him giggle._

_‘They…they’re after...my...Ho Ho’s!’ Duo laughed trying to push the dogs away._

_‘His what?’ Wufei asked cocking a comical brow._

_‘His Ho Ho’s,’ Hiiro replied just as serious as you please before going to rescue his lover from the molesting k-nines._

_They left the dogs with a pile of only slightly mangled Little Debbie snacks and headed back off around the house. A short climb up a trellis to an open balcony soon saw them inside the huge manor and each of them stalled when they got a look at the room._

_It looked like a sex dungeon. There was everything from shackles on the wall to a fully operational, tiling and electrified table in the center. The walls were also adorned with various tools of pain and discord such as whips, chains and some oddly shaped little gizmo’s they didn’t _even_ want to know the use of. _

_‘Holy shit.’_

_‘Well said,’ Wufei breathed in agreement while Hiiro moved them along._

_The hallway, thank god!, was much more normal and conveniently deserted, so they took their leave of the dungeon and slowly made their way silently down the red carpet towards the stairs, but their stealth did them little good when a door suddenly opened behind them and a man stepped out. Each got a quick glimpse of the tall, platinum haired man as his ice blue eyes regarded them evenly while he flipped a nine tailed whip casually in his black gloved hand. He just stood there dressed in black vinyl from neck to toe in what looked to be the sweetest dominatrics dream ever derived. The boy’s, of course, bolted._

_‘Leaving so soon?’_

_They stopped so fast they skidded ten feet down the hall ending up in a pile on the red carpet and gaping incredulously at the man._

_‘Jo?’ Duo ventured refusing to believe his ears._

_‘When one breaks in someone’s home uninvited they might expect...the unexpected,’ he grinned leering at them while he walked his high heeled, black rubber boots down the blood red carpet towards them slowly._

_‘Geez!’ Duo gasped scrambling to his feet. ‘What the hell’re you wearing?!’_

_‘Fuck that! Since when are you a man!?’ Wufei exclaimed managing to keep Duo between him and the approaching menace._

_‘We are what we choose to be,’ Jo grinned sweetly dragging the whips many tails through his black gloved hand._

_‘Zechs?’_

_They looked past the blond man who turned to look at another man stepping out of a room at the end of the hall. He was tall as well, a little older with ginger hair and what looked like a military uniform on._

_‘What’s going on here?’ the new man asked eyeing the shaken boys._

_‘Unexpected guests,’ Jo smiled._

_‘Who’s Zechs?’ Duo asked looking Jo over again when he turned to grin at him._

_‘Where’s Quatre?’ Hiiro added getting back to the point of their little visit._

_‘Hiiro?’ Quatre’s tone questioned while he too stepped out from where the ginger hared man had._

_‘Quat!’ Duo barked stepping forward. ‘You okay? What in the hell’s going on?’_

_‘What’re you guys doing here?’ Quatre asked looking Jo...Zechs...the blond man up and down warily._

_‘Perhaps you should change out of character,’ the ginger haired man advised._

_‘Why?’ Jo…Zechs...*sigh*...asked leering at them again while he nibbled on the end of his whip._

_A firm slap on the ass from the other appeared to change his mind and he wandered off scowling and glaring sulkily before disappearing into the dungeon room._

_‘Forgive his behavior,’ the tall man smiled. ‘He’s a bit difficult to handle when he’s in character. Please,’ he said offering them the way into the room he and Quatre had been in. ‘Join us. I’m very interested to hear how you managed to enter my home.’_

_**_

_‘Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! He he...hooo...oooh my! Ha ha…Ho Ho’s?! ha ha ha,’ the ginger hared man, who had introduced himself as the film producer Treize Kushranada, laughed merrily._

_‘Yeah,’ Duo giggled. ‘Guess they’ve got a sweet tooth,’ he laughed along with the rest of them._

_Jo…or rather Zechs Marquise, turned out to actually be a very popular and famous actor among, well...the more reserved audiences of the world. He was apparently working on a nasty little film with Treize at the moment that required the outlandish costumes and torture devices. They wondered just how many times that room had been used without any film running when Zechs plopped his pretty, little ass down at Treize’s feet the moment he returned from changing where he casually began stroking his long, white hair._

_‘So,’ Duo smiled regaining control of his mirth. ‘Where’s Trowa anyway?’ Not laughing wasn’t a problem anymore once he’d asked since the other’s turned a little green. ‘What?’ he asked concerned._

_‘He’s speaking with father,’ Quatre told them in a small voice._

_‘You mean _your_ father?’ Duo asked just to clarify receiving a nod. ‘Oh, man,’ he breathed. ‘Is he okay? I mean...it’s about you and him, right? Is your dad okay with that?’ he asked glancing at the odd pair of Zechs and Treize. _

_‘I know he doesn’t mind if I’m with a boy, but…’ Quatre never got to finish as the door suddenly opened and the subject of their conversation walked in. ‘Trowa!’ he gasped rushing into his arms. ‘Are you okay? What did he say?’_

_‘Quatre,’ Trowa said softly prying him off and guiding him back to his seat. He offered the others a curious glance, but seemed much too intent on what he was doing to bother with them._

_‘What is it?’ Quatre asked looking as frightened as a mouse and almost as cute._

_‘Quatre,’ Trowa said again dropping to one knee in front on him, taking his hand and kissing it warmly before looking up at him. ‘You know how much I love you,’ he told him receiving a shaky, little nod from his lover. ‘I need you to understand,’ he went on dropping his gaze to the floor while Quatre began to tremble. ‘What I’m going to say to you now I’m not saying because your father told me too,’ he told him looking back up into his swelling cerulean eyes. ‘Gods,’ he breathed overcome with emotion, ‘I love you so much,’ he told him snatching him into a fierce hug._

_‘Trowa?’ Quatre intoned as his voice broke pitifully while tears threatened to spill from his eyes._

_‘Please, believe me,’ Trowa said pushing him back again. ‘I really want you to be mine,’ he told him and Duo’s throat went so dry he couldn’t have spoken if he had to while he watched his drummer shakily slip a small golden band on the blond boy’s trembling finger. ‘Will you marry me?’_

_‘H…h…he t…told you to m…m…m…marry me?!’ Quatre stammered wide eyed._

_‘No…no,’ Trowa said shaking his head in frustration. ‘No...he just wanted to know my intentions, but…this _is_ my intention, Quatre. I want to be with you...always,’ he explained. ‘I know it’s pretty sudden and we don’t have to do it right away, but...well...when your dad asked me what I wanted I just couldn’t help myself. I even bought the ring last week, though I really hadn’t planned on springing it on you until we’d had more time together, but...this is what I want...it’s all I’ve ever wanted…more even…I just can’t see my life without yoummmfffff!’ *THUMP*CLANG!* Trowa hit the floor when Quatre dove on him kissing him madly and knocking the coffee table over in the process. _

_‘Yes!’ Quatre chirped coming up long enough to say the one word then diving back in again._

_Their joyous entanglement quickly infected the others until they were all laughing merrily. It turned out that Quatre’s dad wasn’t really at the Mansion, he was on L3 and the entire conversation had taken place via vid phone. The couple decided that night that a long engagement would be a good idea giving them time to finish school and get their careers in order, such as the possible live tour they might be heading up the next summer if all went well with the scout the next weekend. This satisfied everyone involved and Quatre showed his ring to everyone at least ten times an hour. It was amazing how much joy one small, golden band could inspire. They left their hosts late that evening (Duo stole some candies out of the candy box on Treize’s desk for the dogs) ignoring the way Treize was petting Zechs ass while they made their way out. Again, they had to wonder just how much of that equipment was really for a film, but no one was about to ask._

_Quatre explained that his father and Treize went way back which was why the producer had been charged with helping to look after him. The mountain of a man with the base tenor was Rashid, one of Quatre’s personal body guards. That little tid bit gave Duo the willies at first because just knowing that there was a horde of men out there watching was enough to make his skin crawl, but truth be told, if they really did make it big, body guards would be a necessary evil, so he figured he might as well get used to it. They sure didn’t seem to bother Quatre as he was doing his best to crawl down Trowa’s throat in the back of the van on the way home._

_They left the couple at Trowa’s house to celebrate their new engagement and dropped Wufei off, then spent an hour and half making out in the van in front of the Maxwell Church._

_‘I…should go in,’ Duo said softly between kisses._

_‘Come to my place,’ Hiiro suggested tasting the silken curvature of his long neck, but Duo’s silence was enough to tell him that he’d pushed a little too hard. ‘It’s alright,’ he smiled kissing his forehead. ‘I’ll take the van and pick you up in the morning, okay?’ The tension drained out of Duo with these words leaving Hiiro feeling very much the gallant knight while he kissed him one more time. ‘I love you,’ he told him softly gaining the blushing smile he’d been after before leaving._

_Despite Duo’s reluctance to advance their relationship he was pretty much walking on air when he returned home. J was, as usual, absent from the general vicinity, but he found a small bag on the counter that shocked him when he opened it to find a pack of condoms, a tube of lube and a small instruction manual on male homosexual sex. All he could do was move on to his room and chuckle at his guardian’s audacity. He’d have wondered how he knew, but one thing he’d never been good at was hiding anything from J. He’d probably known longer than Hiiro had. The book didn’t turn up anything he hadn’t already figured out, though the diagram of the location of the prostrate would come in handy. He put the rest in his end table beside his bed and laid back feeling very much right about the world in general as he drifted off to sleep with his mind swimming with a thousand visions of Duo he no longer had to repress._

__‘H…Hiiro! Unn! Yes!...Yes! Don’t stop! More!’_ _

_By the time he caught his breath and regained his senses enough to realize it was a dream he was drenched in sweat, panting like a race horse and hard as rock._

_‘Shit.’_

_Four a.m. Well, there was no getting around it this time and he certainly wasn’t going back to sleep in this condition, so he let his mind wander back to the dream and worked off a little tension. By the time he was finished it was past five and time to get up for the day so he went and showered and found he needed to do it again when visions of Duo’s soap covered body invaded his mind, but he was feeling very refreshed when he picked him up for school. At least until they drove around the corner and Duo decided he’d like a kiss good morning and suddenly his problems started all over again._

_‘You okay?’ Duo asked confused by his reluctance._

_‘Yeah,’ Hiiro replied draping his arm around his shoulders while he drove._

_‘You’re not mad at me or anything are you?’ Duo asked._

_‘No,’ Hiiro chuckled. ‘Of course not…it’s just…’ he glanced down at his lap._

_‘Oh,’ Duo chuckled blushing bright red. ‘Sorry,’ he offered, but for some reason he didn’t sound the least bit sincere so Hiiro kissed him again._

_‘Holy shit! Check it out! The tambourine mans a fag!’_

_‘Duo!’_

_‘Get off! I’m gonna kill that son of a bitch!’_

_‘Shit! OW! Calm down!’_

_‘You’re a dead man, Cliff!’_

_‘Duo calm OW! Damn it! Don’t fuckin’ bite me!’_

_‘Let go!’_

_‘Ha ha ha ha! Later girls!’_

_‘FUCK YOU!’_

_‘Damn it! Calm,’ Hiiro slammed one of his hands back, ‘the fuck,’ then the other, ‘DOWN!’ he shouted pining his entire body beneath him. It took a minute, but Duo finally stopped struggling and glared up at him._

_‘Why won’t you let me kill’im?’ he asked evenly and quite seriously._

_‘Because you probably would,’ Hiiro chuckled wiping the sweat on his brow off on his sleeve. ‘You have to stop letting him get to you,’ he told him easing up a little. ‘What’s the big deal anyway? Just because he got adopted and you didn’t?’_

_Duo was quiet for a long moment, then just suddenly said, ‘Lets do it.’_

_‘What?’_

_‘You know...it.’_

_‘What?!’ Hiiro gasped jumping away from him. ‘Where in the hell did that come from?’ he asked astonished by the hasty suggestion._

_‘We can skip first period and go to your place, right?’ he reasoned sitting up and rubbing his wrists._

_‘Yeah,’ Hiiro mused fighting against his bodies desires to keep a level head. ‘But why? Why now all of a sudden?’ he asked pulling them off the road into a parking lot so they could talk._

_‘Why not?’_

_‘Fuck that,’ Hiiro snapped slamming the van into park so hard it jolted. ‘What the fuck is that supposed to mean?’ he demanded glaring at him and Duo glared back for a long moment before his violet eyes softened and he looked away._

_‘Damn it,’ he swore softly rubbing the palm of his right hand with his thumb hard._

_‘What happened between you two?’ Hiiro demanded needing to know once and for all just how deep Duo’s connection with him went._

_‘They were going to adopt me,’ Duo told him looking out his window at the passing cars. ‘The people that ended up taking Cliff.’_

_‘What happened?’ Hiiro prompted as his hand slipped absently along Duo’s shoulder to gently caress the side of his neck through his thick hair._

_‘We spent six months together,’ Duo told him still rubbing at his palm. ‘Fucker even had me calling him, daddy,’ he snorted wryly. ‘I really thought he loved me, ya know?’ Hiiro didn’t have the courage to ask more, so he just sat and waited hoping with all his might Duo wasn’t about to tell him what he feared he was. ‘I let him touch me,’ Duo said softly staring at the palm he was digging a hole in._

_‘He...molested you?’ Hiiro wanted clarification, his right hand softly stroking Duo’s neck while his left gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were turning white._

_‘Yeah...I guess you could say...Hiiro!!’ Duo gasped reaching to steady his hand before it ripped the wheel clean out of the dash. ‘Calm down! It wasn’t like that! He didn’t do _that_!’ he told him and his words went a long way to saving his poor van from further abuse. ‘He just…touched me...ya know? Until he got off, then he disappeared and the next thing I knew Cliff was being adopted,’ he sighed. ‘Son of a bitch never let me hear the end of it either,’ he added resignedly. _

_‘You’re a damn site better off without a freak like that in your life,’ Hiiro growled making a mental note to bitch slap Cliffs dad if he ever met him, but his comment didn’t appear to make Duo feel any better._

_‘I really thought he loved me,’ he repeated instead. ‘That’s why I let him do it.’_

_‘Damn...no wonder you’re scared,’ Hiiro sighed._

_‘Oh, do not _even_ go there,’ Duo huffed suddenly turning to face him. ‘I told you because you wanted to know why I wanna rip Cliff a new one,’ he told him. ‘That shit has nothing to do with us.’_

_‘But…it’s the same type of thing I want…’_

_‘Hell, no!’ Duo cut him off. ‘There is _no_ comparison here, Hiiro,’ he told him. ‘I couldn’t relate you to him even if I tried,’ he chuckled. _

_‘Then...?’_

_‘I told you already...I’m having a tough time coping with the whole …bottom issue that’s all,’ he told him blushing furiously._

_‘I’m not opposed to it,’ Hiiro grinned and suddenly the soft caress on Duo’s neck was giving him a serious case of the shivers._

_‘I can barely stay conscious when you’ve got hold of me,’ he chuckled nuzzling the hand that was warming him so. ‘I doubt I’d really be of much use in a dominate position,’ he reasoned. The subject matter was all of a sudden turning to something Hiiro really didn’t think he could tolerate without attacking him right there in the van._

_‘We’d better get to class,’ he smiled nervously starting the van._

_Duo didn’t press the subject, mostly because he really didn’t know what to say yet, so he just let it lie. That afternoon during rehearsal he sang Just Communication for Hiiro alone leaving everyone, including Mrs. Udon, absolutely speechless. Quatre had smiled so brightly at Trowa when Hiiro’s arms closed around the trembling vocalist there was no need for further deliberation on the nature of their true feelings for each other and Quatre accosted Duo the moment he got the chance._

_‘Give!’ Quatre demanded sliding up on the counter beside him when they went to fetch some drinks._

_‘What?’ Duo chuckled innocently._

_‘Spill it!’ he demanded goosing him into giggling. ‘How long have you two been ga ga?!?’ he gushed._

_‘Since we were about eight I think,’ Duo laughed. It was an amazing feeling having someone to talk to about it._

_‘Oh, my god! I can’t believe I didn’t notice!’ Quatre exclaimed._

_‘Well…we only started to come to terms with it recently,’ Duo consoled pouring four glasses of J’s famous raspberry tea._

_‘Its great isn’t it?’ Quatre sighed dreamily. ‘I think I’ll make Trowa stop off for extra batteries tonight,’ he grinned waggling his eye brows as Duo blushed bright red and did a really good impression of a fish when his mouth dropped open while Quatre laughed at him._

_‘You little shit!’ Duo growled realizing he’d been had as his friend was just about in hysterics over his reaction._

_‘It’s good though, isn’t it?’ Quatre asked once he caught his breath. ‘I love being in love!’ he grinned. ‘Of course the perks are pretty nice too,’ he added waggling his brows again, but this time Duo only turned thoughtful._

_‘Is it...hard?’ he asked doing a good impression of a boiled lobster while Quatre stared blankly at him. ‘I mean...doesn’t it...hurt?’ he asked unable to look at him any longer._

_‘You mean you haven’t...?’ Quatre asked gaining his answer from the deepening blush on Duo’s face. ‘Oh, man...he must be going nuts!’ he chuckled._

_‘What?’ Duo asked incredulously._

_‘He’s seme,’ he told him rolling his aquamarine eyes. ‘They’re very aggressive. Geez, I’m surprised his sack hasn’t exploded!’_

_‘What?!?!’ Duo gasped in shock._

_‘Look,’ Quatre said slipping off the counter. ‘If you’re worried about pain...don’t. You wont remember any believe me,’ he told him taking two of the drinks. ‘I’d be more worried about Hiiro popping a vein if you don’t get on with it,’ he smiled leaving him to his thoughts._

_When Duo joined the group he was so lost in thought it really didn’t occur to him that he’d slipped into Hiiro’s lap until it was too late, so he just decided to stay there. Hiiro was happy and everyone else was grinning, so there wasn’t any reason to stress._

_Soon they wrapped things up for the night having had some of the home made carrot cake J had left in the fridge and went their separate ways. Hiiro decided to walk Duo home since the sky was clear, the air was cool and the breeze reminded him of days gone by when the two of them played and romped along the walkway years before. It was a testament as to just how distracted Duo was that he ended up leaning into Hiiro allowing him to put a tentative arm around his shoulders while they walked in full view of their neighbors._

_‘What’s on your mind?’ Hiiro asked softly. It wasn’t like he minded getting to hold him, but it wasn’t like Duo to be so open about things._

_‘Hm? Oh...nothing,’ Duo smiled unconvincingly and Hiiro cocked a brow that made him chuckle. ‘I don’t know...guess I just wonder how I got so lucky is all,’ he told him inspiring Hiiro to pull him close and kiss his temple._

_They laughed and Duo blushing cutely when Mrs. Udon’s door suddenly snapped shut. They walked on in silence until the Church came into view whereupon their steps began to slow in an unconscious effort to prolong the night until Duo finally just stopped._

_‘What is it?’ Hiiro asked turning to face him._

_‘Maybe,’ Duo began pausing while he looked at the front door of his home. ‘Could I sleep at your place tonight?’ he asked softly._

_‘I...ahem!’ Hiiro replied blushing and chuckling right along with Duo when his voice came out sounding like a ten year old girls. ‘Sure,’ he told him looking very nervous all of a sudden, but Duo laughed, which served to calm them. ‘If you really want to,’ Hiiro added in a more serious tone._

_‘I do,’ Duo smiled letting him take him in his arms and kiss him warmly. They parted hardly even noticing the thin sliver of light that had broken upon them from the door of the little Church nearby and Duo’s eyes fell on the dark figure of an old priest who stood silently watching them._

_‘Shit,’ Hiiro breathed._

_He’d known they would have to face this sooner or later, but he really would have preferred if they’d had been able to confess it straight up instead of being found out like that. Duo fidgeted glancing from Hiiro to the doorway several times before the door shut again._

_‘I’d better go in,’ he said finally._

_‘Do you want me to come with you?’ Hiiro asked supportively._

_‘No,’ Duo replied. ‘He wont talk to me tonight,’ he assured him when he looked like he would object. ‘It’s not his style. He’ll wait till morning so I have plenty of time to squirm,’ he chuckled._

_‘I’ll be here at sun up,’ Hiiro promised touching his cheek with his palm reassuringly. Duo just smiled and leaned into the warmth of his hand accepting another small kiss before they said goodnight._

_Sun up was half an hour too late. When Hiiro arrived he found himself confronted by not only Father Maxwell, but Sister Helen, the Mother Superior and the Cardinal as well. He was openly invited to join them along with Duo who he immediately sheltered beside him the moment they were together._

_‘You alright?’ he asked seeing the destitute expression on his face._

_‘No...not really,’ Duo replied shakily doing a very good job of scaring the hell out of him._

_‘Duo?’_

_‘They’re going to send me away.’_

_‘What?!’ Hiiro gasped pulling him to his side protectively while he glared at the gathered clergy. ‘Why? He hasn’t done anything wrong!’ he growled._

_‘The Church is not in the habit of condoning homosexual activities,’ the Mother Superior told them sternly. ‘The boy will be sent to a school that will be able to help him overcome his affliction and...’_

_‘If you please,’ the Cardinal cut in patiently. ‘I see no need for insults or propaganda,’ he said earning himself a few brownie points in Hiiro’s book._

_‘You don’t have to go,’ Hiiro reasoned. ‘You can stay here, move in with me…’_

_‘He is still a ward of the state and will do as he is told!’ the Mother snapped._

_‘Mother, please,’ Sister soothed smiling reassuringly at Duo for support._

_‘I’ll come for him,’ Hiiro promised._

_‘I’ll run away,’ Duo declared._

_‘That won’t be necessary,’ Father Maxwell spoke for the first time standing from behind his desk. ‘Sister...if you please,’ he said prompting the Nun to scamper out the door._

_‘I’m sorry,’ Duo told the old priest. ‘I never meant to cause you any trouble,’ he sighed leaning into Hiiro’s arms._

_‘Really?’ the aging priest chuckled. ‘But you do so excel at it,’ he teased making him smile in spite of the situation. A moment later Sister returned with a bundle, a bag and a small wooden box Duo thought he was the only one who knew about since he’d hidden it under a baseboard under his bed when he was ten._

_‘What?’ he gasped receiving what he knew was everything he owned in the world. ‘Am I leaving right now?’ he asked in shock._

_‘I’m afraid so,’ Father Maxwell sighed. ‘Sister,’ he prompted again and Duo wondered at the smile the woman was attempting to hide until she opened the door and there…on the other side…as plain as day and in full view stood J with his mechanical eyes whirring and focusing on all present for a moment before he stepped into the room._

_‘What’s going on?’ Hiiro asked standing to meet his guardian._

_‘As of four a.m. last night Dr. J has accepted the responsibility of caring for the orphan Duo Maxwell and under the codes and regulation afforded by this state, will become the duly recognized legal guardian of said orphan just as soon as he decides to sigh his name in acceptance,’ Father smiled holding out a pen in Duo’s direction. Duo took one look at the pen, one at J’s smiling face and one at Hiiro, then snatched it out of the old priest’s hand so fast he ended up inking his palm in his haste._

_‘Where do I sign!’ he exclaimed jumping on the papers on the desk when Father pointed them out._

_‘Now, see here,’ Mother started to object, but fell silent when Sister put a calming hand on her shoulder while Duo snatched Father into a fierce hug leaving the papers and the pen on the desk._

_‘Thank you,’ he whispered holding him tightly. He just stood there in astonishment for a long moment before his arms slowly closed around him and he hugged him back._

_‘Thank you,’ he said so softly only Duo could hear him, each of them understanding exactly what the other was thanking them for._

_Duo also hugged Sister Helen who hugged him back without a second thought and made him promise to visit on a regular basis before Hiiro blatantly carried him out cradled in his arms like a bride laughing all the way. This left J with the bags, but he didn’t seem to mind offering the old priest a nod of his head before he picked the things up in his clawed hand and took them home with him._

_Hiiro carried Duo all the way back to his...their house first princess style then piggy back right past the crack in Mrs. Udon’s doorway and through the front door where they found a cake that said `Welcome Home` on it complete with an icing keyhole with a key to the front door stuck in it. By the time they ate some of the cake and Duo licked his new house key clean it really started to sink in what had just happened._

_‘So,’ Duo began on the uncomfortable, but necessary subject of living arrangements. ‘Where do I sleep?’_

_‘Uh…well...I imagine J’s already fixed things up for you,’ Hiiro mused staring up the stairs. ‘Guess we should go find out,’ he shrugged._

_There was an extra room down the hall from Hiiro’s that had always been used as a storage closet for J’s rather numerous and diverse hobbies, so this was the first place they went as it was the most logical solution to the problem. However, it was still full of...well…stuff. Duo looked at his companion thoughtfully while Hiiro blushed and offered him an expression that was somewhere between hopeful and apologetic when they turned their eyes on the door down the hall. When Hiiro opened the door to his room, a door they had both been through countless times in the past it was to discover a brand new double bed where his twin used to reside. Duo’s things were sitting ominously on the foot and there were even new, darker curtains on the windows and matching pillow shams that were hand embroidered spelling out the words him and his._

_‘Ummm…I can…ask him to change it,’ Hiiro offered not wanting Duo to feel pressured._

_‘No,’ Duo replied a bit dazedly wandering into the room. ‘It’s nice, huh?’ he chuckled picking up the pillow that said `him`._

_‘He goes a little overboard sometimes,’ Hiiro laughed nervously, then suddenly gasped, ‘Oh, shit! We’re late!’ prompting them both to dash out the door and head for school._

_The news of their new brotherhood shocked their friends to say the least. Legally they still weren’t actually related since Hiiro wasn’t formally adopted. The origins of his connection to the old Japanese man he’d been living with most of his life remained a mystery though, as Hiiro had never found the opportunity to ask. Hell, that morning was the first time he’d seen the man in ages. Needless to say, Quatre was dropping hints and suggestions left and right to help further along their relationship. A fact that embarrassed Duo, delighted Hiiro and just plain got Trowa off. Wufei was, as always, highly amused by the entire affair._

_Wufei had been absent for many of his classes lately as well. It wasn’t clear what he was doing with his time, but it sure didn’t have anything to do with geometry. He did show up for band class though, as the orchestra concert that Quatre was to play the violin solo for was that Friday night. This was about the only thing that could’ve kept Hiiro from dragging Duo home so they could work on turning his room into theirs, but not even he would have suggested missing Quatre’s performance. Most of the school and half the town turned out making for a fairly respectable audience for the slight Arabian boy. At least he wasn’t playing to an empty room even if it wasn’t the Taj Mahal. He played beautifully, as expected, being the highlight of the show and gracing the resounding applause with two curtain calls and an encore before finally stepping off the stage and into his lovers waiting arms where Trowa kissed him full on the mouth in full view of anyone that might have been looking earning them quite a few cat calls and one snide remark from a boy named Cliff and all hell broke loose._

_It was a damn good thing Cliff had experience at avoiding Duo because he chased him all over half the auditorium and out into the parking lot before he finally caught him, his winded state preventing him from actually throttling him beyond repair before Hiiro caught up and dragged him off kicking and screaming and scratching and clawing and cursing and…in the end it was once again Hiiro who got the worse end of the stick._

_‘You’re a total fucking psycho!’ Cliff yelled holding his throbbing jaw where Duo had clocked him one before Hiiro’s interference._

_‘Fuck you, you bigoted jerk!’ Duo growled pulling hard in his effort to get loose from Hiiro’s strong grip. ‘Why can’t you just leave us the hell alone!?’_

_‘Just let it go!’ Trowa barked holding Quatre protectively under one arm. ‘He’s not worth it!’_

_‘He’s gonna be fuckin’ dead in a minute!’ Duo snarled trying to stamp on Hiiro’s foot in another attempt to free himself and getting his arms jerked hard for his trouble._

_‘You people are all freaks!’ Cliff shouted backing away and right into his blond girlfriend’s chest._

_‘Honestly, Hiiro,’ she smiled confidently while the boy skirted her. ‘When are you going to dump these little gutter snipes and come along with us where you belong?’ she sneered, then suddenly gasped when Hiiro released Duo and he ploughed right into the both of them knocking her on her skinny, little ass in his effort to reach the screaming boy behind her. Hiiro let it go on for a minute, just long enough to grace the honey blond girl with a wicked, little grin before he pulled him off again at some great cost to himself._

_‘Ouch,’ he ground out quietly in a tone of pure menace when his left shin exploded in pain, the threatening tenor in his voice serving to subdue the squirming boy in his arms to a more reasonable wriggle._

_‘Why don’t you go feel each other up or something!’ Cliff sneered._

_‘Why don’t you go ask your old man for lessons!’ Duo growled._

_There was a long silence wherein Cliff just stood staring blankly at him, both of them breathing hard and glaring daggers at each other, then slowly, ever so slowly Duo’s gaze began to melt as comprehension dawned brightly in his violet eyes while an expression of pure shock overtook his beautiful features and Hiiro released him instantly. ‘Oh god, no…Cliff?’, but he was already in tears and turned suddenly bolting from the parking lot disappearing into the night. With the lack of friends at her side the girl faded away as well leaving just the five boys and some confused looking bystanders milling about._

_‘Come on,’ Hiiro coaxed Duo who was still staring at where Cliff had disappeared._

_‘Geez, Hiiro,’ Duo gulped collapsing in on himself. ‘It’s my fault,’ he hissed while Hiiro wrapped him up and pulled him tight. ‘I never told anyone,’ Duo went on burying his face in Hiiro’s wide chest. ‘I should’ve said something.’_

_‘Hush,’ Hiiro told him. ‘You don’t know what really happened,’ he reminded him. ‘It might not be any worse than what happened to you,’ he reasoned. ‘This guy sounds like a real coward if you ask me,’ he soothed ushering him towards their van. He offered the others a nod to let them know that he’d just as soon handle this one himself and they reluctantly hung back allowing them to leave alone._

_‘Damn it,’ Duo sighed once they were on their way home. ‘Why didn’t it ever occur to me?’ he wondered. ‘I mean…Cliff always seemed like such a normal guy, ya know?.. An asshole even...not the type to have…’_

_‘Then there’s a pretty good possibility that whatever took place wasn’t that severe,’ Hiiro reasoned._

_‘Yeah, I guess,’ he sighed again. ‘I need to know though.’_

_‘I know,’ Hiiro replied. ‘We do it right though, okay?’ he asked brushing his thumb over the back of Duo’s knuckles where he was holding his hand._

_‘Yeah,’ Duo agreed. ‘I’ll talk to Father tomorrow,’ he sighed before adding a quiet, ‘Lets go home,’ and Hiiro swallowed really, really hard._

_They spoke very little once they arrived enjoying the pudding and chocolate milk J had set out for them before going to take showers and prepare for bed. The awkwardness was leaving a thick veil of tension in the air that was preventing them from so much as having a simple conversation. Hiiro breathed a sigh of relief when his new roomy stepped into the bathroom for his turn in the shower giving him a much needed moment alone. He dug through his drawer picking out a suitable pair of pajama bottoms, white, low slung…easily removed, but that just left him feeling like a letch so he opted for the boxers with the little angel wings all over them that Duo had given him at Christmas. He put on some cologne and wiped it back off again, then fluffed up their pillows tucking them close before pulling them apart again. Tried to comb his hair, but it didn’t look much different than when he started when he was done, set the alarm for the practice the next morning and dropped his watch in the end table where he was confronted with the condoms and lube J had given him. He was still staring blankly into the drawer when Duo stepped out of the bathroom causing him to jump and slam the drawer shut when he spun around and dropped his jaw on the floor._

_Duo smiled rubbing his loose, wet hair with the towel, its dark chestnut tendrils bearing a stark contrast to the white terry where they swooped and draped all along his half naked body as he was wearing a pair of white, low slung pajama bottoms._

_‘Window or wall?’ he asked softly turning to the mirror._

_‘………..’_

_Duo turned back to face his speechless companion with a curious wrinkle on his brow. ‘Which do you prefer?’_

_‘What?’ Hiiro asked in a dry whisper._

_‘We haven’t slept together since we were kids,’ Duo chuckled sitting on the edge of the bed. ‘You used to like the window side, but...?’ He left the question open leaning over, his hand splaying across the soft sheets, his damp hair spilling in pools like dark wine around his thin hips while he smiled gently at his mesmerized roomy._

_‘Ho’boy,’ Hiiro breathed softly not realizing he’d said it out loud until Duo chuckled again. ‘Maybe I should sleep on the couch,’ he sighed running a shaking hand through his dark chocolate locks._

_‘Why?’ Duo asked sliding his hand across the sheet until his body lay along their stark white purity while he gazed softly up at him with those boundless, violet eyes._

_‘Damn,’ Hiiro gasped looking for a place to sit and not finding one._

_‘What?’ Duo asked lifting his head curiously._

_‘You are soo beautiful,’ Hiiro told him without preamble. ‘I really don’t think I can do this and still restrain myself,’ he said honestly feeling his will crumbling with every passing moment._

_‘Well,’ Duo sighed laying his head back down. ‘I’m not really asking you to am I?’_

_‘Are you serious?’ Hiiro asked feeling a sudden rush of clarity race through his veins, the sheer power of his purpose narrowing his entire world down to one fine point that was hopelessly overflowing with nothing but Duo._

_‘I dunno,’ Duo shrugged. ‘I guess if I don’t like it we can always find other ways,’ he offered shyly._

_‘You’ll like it,’ Hiiro told him kneeling on the bed beside him and Duo’s expression washed with fear, excitement, anxiety and desire all at the same time when he bent to kiss him deeply, his body folding into him, his warmth overtaking him as they settled together like two drops of summer rain. They were fighting for breath by the time they surfaced and Hiiro added in a heated rush, ‘I’ll make sure of it,’ before proving that he meant every word._

_He took his time, there was no need to hurry and he wanted Duo’s first time, their first time to be as perfect as the love he felt in his heart. It was a long time before he allowed himself to even begin preparing his new lover for what was to come as he was just so into the way Duo felt in his arms, his lustful reactions and pleading driving him to the brink of insanity. He just never wanted it to end, this purity, this moment that would never be again, the moment they gave themselves to each other for the first time, the last time he would ever hold his beautiful virgin in his arms, but as they say, all good things must come to an end. Only this could open the door to even more lovely things to come._

_J’s presents came in very handy, though he didn’t bother with the condoms. Duo was his lover and he Duo’s; this was how it would always be, so he saw no reason to worry with barriers. The lube, on the other hand, was empty before dawn and Duo had added a few new words to his vocabulary. No was not one of them._

_‘How come I never knew about this prostrate thing before?’ Duo asked giggling drunkenly in the predawn light._

_‘Because you don’t pay attention in biology,’ Hiiro replied._

_‘Well, I’m damn glad you do,’ Duo laughed snuggling closer. ‘We’re going to need some more of this stuff,’ he giggled holding up the empty tube of lube._

_‘I’ll see if they have it in gallons,’ Hiiro teased._

_‘UnnnnGGG!’ Duo groaned rolling over to slap the alarm when it went off and Hiiro just laughed at him._

_‘Damn,’ he breathed. ‘Its morning already?’ he mused looking out the window at the brightening sky. ‘Shit…you brute!’ he teased twisting Hiiro’s nipple and making him gasp, giggle and snatch him in for a kiss, which quickly turned into something less playful and Duo found himself on his back again groaning happily._

_‘Son of a bitch,’ Hiiro breathed laying his weight on him while he snuggled his neck and nibbled his jaw. ‘I can’t believe I still want more of you,’ he chuckled._

_‘You can’t?’ Duo laughed raising his hips into Hiiro’s and causing his already returning desire to strengthen._

_‘I do believe you,’ he said pecking a kiss on his lips, ‘are a masochist,’ he grinned._

_‘So?’ Duo grinned slowly spreading his legs. ‘Spoil me,’ he smiled suggestively, so that’s just what Hiiro did._

_It was well past noon before they opened their eyes and the guilt over hearing their band out in the garage rehearsing without them prompted them to roll out of bed. A quick shower which they took separately to...ahem...save time...and they were ready to join their friends. Breakfast had been left on the kitchen table for them, cereal bars, power aide and a bottle of iron pills to which was taped the name of a local supplier of the `special supplies` they would need and Duo just about choked on his cereal bar when he realized what it was._

_‘Thanks J...umm. Pop!?’ he chuckled raising a quizzical brow at Hiiro._

_‘I don’t know,’ he shrugged. ‘I just call him J,’ he smiled guiding him out the door._

_‘Later J!’ Duo laughed giggling madly when Hiiro poked him in the ribs to get him out the door while a comical grunt sounded somewhere in the house._

_‘Good Morning!’ Quatre beamed the moment they stepped into the dimly lit garage._

_‘Mornin!’ Hiiro returned happily absently resting his hands on Duo’s hips where he stood behind him and grinned like an idiot at the smiling faces of their friends._

_‘Sleep well?’ Trowa sniggered deepening the blush on Duo’s face._

_‘Sleep at all?’ Wufei added under his breath spurring everyone into laughing out loud while Duo batted him in the head with a rag._

_‘You’re just jealous ‘cause you’re not getting any,’ Duo teased._

_‘Who says I’m not getting any?’ Wufei grinned laughing at his astonished expression._

_‘We have four hours to get this show perfected, gentlemen,’ Quatre interjected bringing the playful banter to an end._

_The day went by quickly like a light breeze on a summer’s day. Everything just seemed to fall so easily into place, even when Duo called lunch and took an hour out to go talk to Father Maxwell about Cliff. The old priest couldn’t tell him anything specific of course, but he did derive from the conversation that Cliff and his adopted father had been in counseling for a very long time. From what he told him he got the feeling whatever went on between them wasn’t completely non-consensual on Cliff’s part, much like what Duo recalled himself allowing the man to do long ago. He could still remember how much love and affection he’d felt from the guy, which was the only reason he’d let it happen in the first place. It was wrong, he knew that, but apparently they were already taking the steps necessary to heal and Duo’s long silence on the matter hadn’t been an issue after all. On the brighter side of the equation his animosity towards Cliff had all but vanished the moment he figured out that everything he had ever teased him about was a lie. He just couldn’t find it in himself to be angry over any of it anymore, it was a very liberating feeling that he shared with Hiiro in a secluded niche along the back of the garage until Wufei turned the hose on them._

_They took a long break to rest their voices, fingers and toes for dinner, which was generously provided by J. Asian take out! Yum! And not too heavy either, which was good because the energy level crackling between the five-some was already reaching dangerous proportions. It had become unnecessary for the couples in the group to connect on a physical plain in order to share themselves with their partners, but they were doing a lot of it anyway. Trowa’s arm seemed to be glued securely to Quatre’s body in some form or another and Duo was spending most of his time casually draped over, sitting on or otherwise affiliated with Hiiro’s in the last short moments before the show. Jo hadn’t shown up, but that wasn’t uncommon and since he...she...whatever…had promised a scouts presence they weren’t all that surprised not to see him...er...her._

_The show went off without a hitch even though the crowd had swelled to ungodly proportions since their debut performance had spread their name far and wide. The club was filled way past capacity bringing out both the police and the local national guard to ensure everyone’s safety. To put it in a nutshell, it was seriously nuts and Duo was dead center sucking up all the energy the crowd could dish out, amplifying it and pouring it right back out to them. They ended up doing Just Communication twice because the crowd was threatening to overtake the stage if they didn’t give an encore. By the end of the second set the authorities had things under control again, at least off stage anyway. On stage the power of the night surged through Duo’s veins inspiring him to jump into Hiiro’s arms and kiss him right there in front of god and everyone. Hiiro didn’t appear to mind one little bit going as far as to carry him off the stage and straight into Jo’s office without ever letting him down. They left the crowd in a tumultuous fit stomping their feet in time and screaming for more. Quatre and Trowa had joined in on the whole make out idea by the time they were secured inside the little office, but they were soon interrupted when Jo joined them with Treize and another man with dark hair and black, horned rimmed glasses whose brown eyes were sparkling with glee and excitement in his wake._

_‘HI!’ the unknown man barked over the den before the door could even shut. ‘You boy’s are great! Oh... I’m Taylor Brown…Midway Entertainment,’ he introduced himself shaking Quatre’s hand since he was the first to offer. ‘Man! Milliardo told me you guys were good, but I gotta say…’_

_‘Who?’ Duo asked._

_‘Milliardo,’ the man smiled indicating Jo who just grinned at their sardonic expressions. ‘So what’dya say? You boy’s wanna come to city and cut a CD? I can leave you a contract tonight and…’_

_‘Sure!’ Quatre chirped jumping happily into Trowa’s lap while Hiiro pulled Duo a little tighter against him._

_‘Great!’ Brown smiled. ‘Listen,’ he added eyeing the closeness between them. ‘No offense, but the boy/boy thing is really a bit retro right now,’ he told them bringing a frown to five young faces. ‘Ya know? Personally I wouldn’t mind jumping in that pot with ya sometime, but image is everything, right? So we need to keep a lid on it,’ he smiled while the temperature in the room suddenly dropped. ‘Tonight wasn’t good in that respect, but there are plenty of hot little groupies out there to choose from,’ he suggested. ‘Just get yourselves seen groping or kissing one of them and things’ll be back on track,’ he smiled clapping his hands together in finality._

_‘Get out,’ Hiiro said evenly pulling Duo tighter yet._

_‘Oh, come on,’ he sighed. ‘This is your big chance! Do whatever you like behind closed doors,’ he went on. ‘It’s just for images sake.’_

_‘He doesn’t usually say things twice,’ Duo warned gripping Hiiro’s hand when he tried to slip it from around his waist and rise._

_‘Are you sure?’ Treize asked stepping in._

_‘We are who we are,’ Quatre offered evenly snuggling up to Trowa._

_‘Yeah,’ Wufei smiled almost in an evil manor, his black eyes flashing maliciously. ‘Besides…it’s not like we don’t have...other options,’ he grinned flashing an indescribable glance at Zechs, er…Jo…or Milliardo? whose lips slowly curled in response._

_‘Well, then,’ Treize breathed clapping Brown on the shoulder. ‘Thank you for your time, Mr. Brown,’ he said ushering the speechless man out the door._

_‘What _other_ options?’ Duo asked the moment it closed. _

_‘I have an alternative offer that might interest you,’ Treize smiled stepping between Zechs and Wufei, his hand slithering out with an inhuman grace to pull the clip out of Zechs long, platinum hair. He smiled while the blonde man nuzzled his hand when he laced his fingers into the back of it slowly tightening his grip…_

_‘Ahem.’_

_‘I could offer you a contract,’ Treize said without taking his eyes off Zechs ice blue eyes._

_‘Doing what?’ Quatre asked nervously._

_‘Scores for my films for one,’ he replied turning his attention away though he didn’t let go, the weight of his arm slowly pulling Zechs down to his knees. Zechs did nothing but obey and the others did nothing but their best to ignore this odd behavior. ‘There is also an opportunity for some studio work of your own,’ he told them. ‘The possibilities are endless,’ he said, his slender eyes rolling slowly over to where Wufei was grinning at him._

_‘We could stay in school,’ Quatre smiled hugging Trowa’s neck._

_‘We could live at home,’ Duo grinned doing the same to Hiiro._

_‘And your private lives,’ Treize added lifting his hand to the side of Wufei’s head, ‘Would stay…’ he grinned when his black eyes flashed while he moved his palm slowly down his side slipping it methodically around the curvature of his ass while he added, ‘…private.’ Wufei grimaced at whatever he’d done squeezing his eyes shut painfully, but he didn’t move or try to pull away. In fact, when he opened them again they were smoldering like ebony coals._

_‘You dog!’ Trowa chortled, the entire company laughing comfortably when he Chinese boy turned to face them and simply growled..._

_‘Rrruff.’_

_owari :)_

**Author's Note:**

> If you like this kind of fic leave a comment and I'll try to post more. thx ^-^
> 
> Write it, draw it, create it, sing it, SHARE IT. ~ Sunhawk 2019


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